Fires are a part of life in California. There are thousands every year and devastation ranges from mild to severe, and sometimes they prove to be tragically fatal. Fires are usually unpredictable, but with Sonitrol’s Fire Alarm System, you can find peace of mind knowing your building is monitored for fire by security experts 24 hours a day.
We think our local firefighters are heroes, but you can’t expect your local fire department to be everywhere at one time, especially when a fire seemingly comes out of nowhere. They are busy fighting the fire head-on, so it is important to understand the following three facts about fire and how Sonitrol can help.
Fires Don’t Discriminate
As a business owner, focusing on fire risk assessment, fire prevention, and staff education can help reduce your chance of fire and smoke damage, which is especially important in California since the state provides the perfect environment for fires to flourish.
California came out of a four-year drought last winter. The much-needed rain increased vegetation growth and ended up causing more damage this fall when wildfires spread rapidly due to the extra amount of dried up foliage and debris.
Fires don’t discriminate on where or what they engulf and destroy. Sometimes it seems like a lottery on where fires begin, but once they’ve caught on, evacuation is necessary if your building is in the path.
Fires Destroy Buildings in a Matter of Moments
The second thing to understand is how quickly fires can engulf and destroy buildings. When buildings are farther apart from each other, there won’t be as much of a domino effect of the fire spreading from building to building as when they are closer together. Many businesses don’t have the luxury of being spaced farther apart like residential communities, but there are still ways to protect your business from fire.
Vegetation close to buildings has a large impact on how quickly a fire can spread and how severely it will impact your building. It is the law for homes to have a defensible space, which is the required space between a structure and the windland area. A defensible space is something that property managers can easily maintain by pruning the vegetation around the building.
Fires Are Unpredictable
Unfortunately, wildfire season has become increasingly longer and more severe over the years due to climate change and wind patterns. The Tubbs Fire burned 36,807 acres throughout Napa and Sonoma County in October 2017, killed 13 people, and is considered the 6th deadliest wildfire in California’s wildfire history.
Fires like these are so forceful simply because embers are carried by the wind to new places and because of the dry environment, catch on quickly. Fires that might look like they are far away can be right on your doorstep in moments.
Don’t be caught without warning. Invest in a verified fire alarm system to protect your facility and people. Sonitrol’s Fire Alarm System accounts for smoke and heat detection, water flow, sprinkler, and temperature monitoring, and more.