Obstruction Monitoring
OSHA, the NFPA and the Joint Commission all require your fire alarm pull stations, fire doors, electrical and fire panels all remain unobstructed and clear for use. Yet everyday, people put desks, dumpsters, debris and more in their way. Don’t get blocked, Let en-Gauge help.
en-Gauge has developed the most deployed, most robust system for monitoring life safety device obstruction available in the market. Using he sames code accepted technology used in en-Gauge’s Underwriters Laboratories listed Fire Extinguisher Monitoring System, en-Gauge can rid your organization of obstruction related issues.
Electrical panels, pull stations, fire extinguishers and more are easily blocked and easily cited by inspectors. Don'
t get written up or pay unneccesary fines!
OSHA, the NFPA and the Joint Commission all require that you keep your fire extinguishers, fire alarm pull stations, fire doors, electrical and fire panels unobstructed and clear for use. Yet every day, people put desks, dumpsters, debris and more in their way. Don’t get blocked, Let en-Gauge help.
en-Gauge has developed the most deployed, most robust system for monitoring life safety device obstruction available in the market. Using he sames code accepted technology used in en-Gauge’s Underwriters Laboratories listed Fire Extinguisher Monitoring System, en-Gauge can rid your organization of code violations related to obstruction related issues while improving life safety.
Related Blog Posts
Where there's smoke, there's fire. And that was the case at a Houston Hospital. Fortunately the fire was put out with an extinguisher before anyone was hurt. It's a good thing the extinguisher was acccessible and ready to use so that there was no significant damage or worse, loss of life.
It seems to us that it has been too long since we wrote a fire extinguisher success story wrap-up. As usual, the stories aren’t hard to find. Small fires kept from turning into large, devastating fires by quick thinking individuals using these critical life safety devices. Here is a wrap up:
Nursing Home Employees Keep Fire From Spreading
Nursing home employees in Missouri used a fire extinguisher to save the Bluffs Nursing home from burning down after a food warmer caught fire. According to an article from Connect Mid-Missouri:
The Columbia fire department says employees at a nursing home saved the building during an early evening fire.It happened at about 5:00pm last night at the Bluffs nursing home on Bluff Creek drive.
Firefighters found a small fire involving the plug from a food warmer and an electrical outlet that had been extinguished by employees using a fire extinguisher. The fire caused about $4,000 worth of damage.
Without the use of proper fire extinguishers by the employees this accident could have been much worse. Evacuating elderly people can be a very dangerous activity for both the firefighters and the people being evacuated.
Fire Extinguishers (and Good Fences) Make Good Neighbors
A neighbor with a keen eye saved a house in New London Connecticut using a fire extinguisher to put out a blaze before fire officials would even arrive. These actions prevented injuries and minimized the damages to the house. According to Connecticut’s TheDay.com:
An alert neighbor grabbed a fire extinguisher and quickly knocked down an outside fire at 12 Home St. on Monday afternoon. Battalion Chief Keith Nichols said fire personnel arrived around 2 p.m. to find lots of smoke with the blaze knocked down but still smoldering. No one was injured, Nichols said, and the damage was contained to the outside, porch and siding area of the multi-family home. Firefighters pulled siding from the home and sprayed it down. One firefighter used a chainsaw to cut away burnt siding and another peeled up porch slats to make sure the fire had not spread. Nichols did not know the cause of the fire, which remains under investigation by the fire marshal’s office.
This good neighbor was prepared and ready for an accident, when it happened he reacted and saved the house. Without the necessary equipment this small fire could’ve easily engulfed the entire house
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Dig Deeper: Watch The Brief Presentation, 4 Reasons it is an Emergency When An Extinguisher is Pulled on Your Campus
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Tenant Fights Kitchen Fire: Protects Fellow Residents, Building
The occupant of an apartment in Ohio saved his unit as well as others’ in the apartment building when he quelled a kitchen fire using a fire extinguisher. The article in IndieOnline.com reports:
According to reports, fire crews responded to 1819 Miles Ave. NW around 9:45 p.m. Fire Chief Tracy Hogue said that the occupant of the apartment where the fire started used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames and that the department needed minimal amounts of water to extinguish the fire. Smoke from the fire filled the entire apartment and forced the residents of the adjoining apartments to evacuate. The only damage reported was to the apartment where the fire originated. The smoke and heat damage, which was contained to the kitchen, was estimated at $5,000.
This quick thinking tenant was well prepared and potentially saved not only his unit, but also the entire building.
Couple Uses Fire Extinguishers To Escape Aggressive Blaze
A well prepared Oregon couple narrowly escape their home unharmed by using fire extinguishers to fend off flames that filled their home. An article by The Oregonian reports:Regina and Dwayne Dennis discovered a blaze in their home in the 3700 block of North Vancouver Avenue and called 9-1-1 at 4:45 a.m. They then fought the blaze with fire extinguishers they kept in the house as they backed away from the flames and toward safety. "This is a case where the homeowners did everything right and got out of the house quickly and safely," said Paul Corah, spokesman for the Portland Fire Bureau. "They had working smoke alarms, portable fire extinguishers, called 911, and met firefighters out front just as they should have."
With millions of fires each year being effectively fought with fire extinguishers, it is vitally important to ensure that these silent heroes are available, accessible and working properly. Find out more about how enGauge monitors your organization's extinguishers so they are ready when you need them.
en-Gauge strengthens partnerships
en-Gauge Inc in Rockland Ma. continues to grow and strengthen its partnerships throughout the fields of safety asset management. en-Gauge’s safety asset monitoring technology has three divisions; en-Gauge to monitor the condition of fire extinguishers, en-Vision that monitors the readiness of safety equipment and en-O2 which ensures the viability of a medical and industrial gases within healthcare and other occupancies.
Read the whole article here...
A number of fires at San Jose State in California leave students worrying.
Fire crews responded to two small fires Thursday morning at Joe West Hall, a high-rise building where about 500 students live.
One was reported in a garbage can on the seventh floor, and the second was reported on the fifth floor. One student suffered cuts to his arm when he broke into a fire extinguisher box.
A 2009 survey by the Joint Commission an independent, non-profit organization that accredits health care organizations found that the number one challenge indicated in maintaining the environment of care was fire safety equipment maintenance.
Among the Joint Commission's requirements is the monthly physical maintenance and inspection of fire equipment. Monthly physical inspections can be costly, especially in time and labor required.
The good news is that like the NFPA and the ICC, the Joint Commission now recognizes en-Gauge's technology as an equivalent to the manual 30-day fire extinguisher inspections. Health care facilities that adopt en-Gauge can reduce risk, stay code compliant and potentially reduce the cost of extinguisher ownership by some 60% over 12 years.
Read the full release for details.