How Fire Watch Guards Play A Vital Role In Detecting & Preventing Fires?

Thinking of security patrol services, the first thing that often comes to everyone’s mind is security officers protecting people & properties. But, security patrol services company like BAM Public Safety nowadays offer more than just theft protection services. It also offers 24/7 fire watch services to ensure safety officers guide everyone to safety during a fire while minimizing any loss in the process.
Hiring professional fire watch safety officers will add another level of security that even smoke detectors, alarms, or sprinkler systems won’t guarantee. Fire watch guards will play an important role in protecting lives & properties by detecting & preventing fire promptly. Here are a few points that will help you understand how they do it.

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Maintain Fire Protection Plan
Planning is a widely accepted strategy that’s the key to success. Which is why initially maintaining a fire protection plan can help address fire prevention & detection efficiently. Safety Officers can ensure that the current, appropriately written safety & emergency response plan & procedures are also available to all staff members. This way, they can implement the fire protection plan perfectly when a fire breaks out to make sure people are safe & damage minimized.

 

Conduct Regular Foot Patrols
A private security guard patrolling on foot in commercial buildings or residential communities is the perfect way to exercise vigilance. The same is applicable for safety officers to detect & prevent fires. Which is why foot patrols are specifically designed for them to be conducted at specified intervals with the requirement to maintain detailed log of fire watch activities.
These foot patrols allow them to check for signs of fire, identify hazards, & monitor premises for other safety issues that could hinder response time. The safety officers while patrolling can also ensure that entrances & exits are not locked and the fire access roads and fire hydrants are in place & clear.

Test Equipment & Conduct Drills
Safety officers are trained to perform on-site inspections regularly. They can, in fact, test the condition & functionality of safety equipment and fire protection systems to ensure everything is well maintained, tested, and documented from time to time. Their role as a safety officers also includes assisting/ensuring practical evacuation drills are conducted & remedial actions implemented to always be prepared for the worst.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report Violations
Safety officers are certified professionals that on noticing any violation or anything remotely suspicious are trained to inspect. In case a fire does break out, they are trained to notify the manager & the fire department instantly and take further actions to save lives of people on-site. In addition to that, maintaining a fire watch log is essential to have concrete proof of thorough inspection.

Enforce Strict Rules & Regulations
In commercial buildings as well as residential communities, security guards are supposed to enforce rules & regulation made by the authorities to maintain a safe environment. Similarly, among one of the many roles that safety officers play, enforcing rules & regulations to the best of their abilities is yet another part that plays a vital role. It is their job to inform on-site personnel of the no-smoking policy or any other that could start a fire or escalate the situation quickly.

 

Mitigate Fire Alarm Activation
Fire alarms play a vital role in fire prevention & detection. The moment they go off, it’s the job of the safety officers to respond to them and take quick actions. Before that, the fire watch guards should look for signs that visually confirm a fire outbreak, and activate the alarm if it’s not raining already. He should ensure that no one tries to enter the building, and also the areas that remain locked are unlocked, so no paths for exits are blocked.

Assist In Emergency Evacuation
The job of safety officers be it in commercial buildings or residential communities, isn’t just to detect or prevent fires. If an event of fire takes place, they are required to call the fire & rescue and related emergency services as well as inform their managers of the situation on-site. Additionally, they are expected to implement immediate evacuation with the help of other guards to get all people to safety in an orderly & calm manner, while waiting for the emergency services.

Conclusion
Safety officers have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders because they can truly make a difference. Which is why, while looking to hire safety officers services ensure the officers are trained to inspect, identify, report, and immediately prevent fires or even any other problem. Even when preventing fires may not be possible, safety officers should be able to perform a quick evacuation to keep the loss of life to a minimum. All our officers are trained and certified in OSHA’s NCSH 400 Fire Prevention and Life Safety as well as OSHA 7105 Evacuation and Emergency Planning.

If you are looking for safety officer services in the New Hampshire area, BAM Public Safety with over 15 years of extensive experience has been offering dedicated professional safety services. Contact us to get a customized quote today.