Hospitality managers or hotel owners understand that fire sprinkler and fire alarm compliance requirements must be met to ensure the safety of guests. The hardest and most important part of periodic fire protection systems testing is getting in and out of the guest rooms quickly and with minimal disruption.
Fire alarm testing in the hospitality environment has many challenges. The goals of the involved parties are often conflicting:
- Guests want quiet, relaxation, and privacy.
- Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) or the Fire Marshal is tasked with ensuring the facility’s fire safety systems and emergency practices meet all required adapted codes through hands-on inspections as well as review of Inspection, Test, and Maintenance (ITM) documentation.
Before you accept that you have no choice but to ruin your guests’ otherwise good time to comply with the requirement of testing your fire protection systems, let a single source provider like Performance Systems Integration (PS) sit down and help you develop an ITM strategy.
The first step in any plan development is to understand what needs to be done and all available options. Every room must be entered to test smoke alarms/detectors and observe the proper operation of audible (horns/speakers) and visible devices (strobes in ADA rooms). Consider:
- What time of year are we likely to experience lower occupancy rates?
- What time of day is the least number of guests present?
- Are there remodels or construction projects coming up?
- Are there special events on the horizon to avoid?
- Is it possible to compartmentalize the facility to isolate test areas?
- Make sure that proper signage is prepared and posted informing guests and visitors.
- Coordinate all potential parties (life safety systems, elevator, AHJ, etc.) to eliminate duplicate intrusive entries.
- Are there cost tradeoffs that might be advantageous (shift work, increased staff participation)
- Are there technical innovations available to reduce overall time/cost?
Answering these questions and organizing tasks in a logical manner will save time, money, and guest interaction. Once your strategy is defined, PSI’s experienced and certified inspection technicians will be professional, on time, and on task. Our experience working in the hospitality environment will show through. Any discrepancies will be documented with a solution presented. Documentation will be organized in a manner that will satisfy the fire department and other AHJs.
Contact us to set up an integrated testing plan today!