Should I Get My Fire Alarm Company to Do My Part 7 Testing?
Who doesn’t love simplicity? If your fire alarm service company says they can also do your quarterly Part 7 testing, why wouldn’t you say yes? If you have the opportunity to kill two birds with one contractor, why wouldn’t you, right?
Not necessarily.
Yes, getting your quarterly testing for Part 7 of the Ontario Fire Code (OFC) performed by your fire alarm company may appear to be the most convenient and cost-effective option. However, based on what we see every day, we would like to warn you that this is rarely the case.
Here’s why.
1. Part 7 Involves Much More Than Just Testing Your Fire Alarms
Your fire alarm system company can provide you with someone who is unquestionably an expert on that system. However, the Part 7 test is an integrated test. This means that it looks at every single part of your life safety system which includes your alarms, sprinklers, fans, control panel, elevators, doors, locks, and so much more.
This means that you need more than just a fire alarm system expert. You need someone with proven and certified expertise in all of the above areas so that they can carry out the test in a comprehensive and compliant fashion.
If your fire alarm expert has knowledge gaps when it comes to your life safety system, that means you’re also going to have safety gaps and compliance gaps.
Things are no longer convenient or cost-effective now that you have hidden safety problems or possible compliance issues.?
2. Documentation Problems?
Proper documentation is one of the most crucial aspects of fire safety and fire code compliance. This includes both the documents you keep and the forms you submit.
Our team members have been called on to “take over” Part 7 testing for some clients after they previously had their fire alarm company do it. And we have found that, quite often, the documents and procedures used by the fire alarm company don’t match the protocols and templates the engineer designed.
This leaves you susceptible to three big problems:
However, you probably won’t realize any of this until it’s too late.
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3. A Lack of Repeatability and Clarity
Tom Marchese, P.Eng, PMP, is one of FCS’ certified engineers. Tom has developed hundreds of Part 7 protocols in existing buildings. Using this expertise, he has been called on to step in and perform Part 7 testing after a fire alarm service company had done the previous testing. He’s found that in a startling number of cases, the previously prepared tests were simply unrepeatable, unclear, or unusable.
“The report is written in such a way that it can't be repeated. Or people are coming to us saying, ‘Well, we've got this report, but nobody knows what to do with it,’” said Marchese.
“So then we have to kind of slice it and dice it and figure out, ‘We need to redo this and this.’ Then figure out how to pull out a test procedure from there. I think the primary thing is, quite frankly, how understandable the report itself is.”
He added that one of the most common issues they encounter when looking at a report done by a fire alarm expert is a misalignment of measures and categories.?
“They do a baseline assessment, which outlines the systems that you have in the building, and they try to align them with Building Code “Measures.” Those are categories of smoke control systems. One of the first things we do is figure out the category of smoke control for everything and then make a test based on that,” said Marchese
“But alarm service companies will do an assessment and say, ‘Okay, well it falls into this category.’ But the problem is that, three months from now, when you have to redo a test, there isn't a straightforward procedure or a procedure that is customized to that building.”
4. A False Sense of Security and a Lack of Forethought
If you go with a fire alarm provider, they may do your quarterly testing and tell you, “Everything passed. You’re good to go. See you in 3 months.” Not being an expert in fire safety, you say, “Hey great. Glad that’s taken care of.”
However, as we’ve mentioned above, a fire alarm technician is only an expert in one specific area. They simply don’t have the depth or breadth of knowledge they need to truly assess your entire system. In fact, fire alarm verification standards do not require technicians to have that level of knowledge in “ancillary” systems.? They may tell you that you’re 100% safe and compliant, but they’re not actually qualified to determine that. And then, when a truly qualified Part 7 expert comes in later on, they often find several problems.
At the same time, a fire alarm technician is not always qualified or experienced to witness and instruct the other parties, such as elevator and HVAC contractors, required to conduct a thorough Part 7 test and protocol development and subsequent quarterly inspections.
A fire alarm service company is also not going to give you the same level of foresight. At FCS, we take pride in the fact that we truly get to know your building and we learn the specific challenges it faces. We can even predict those challenges.
For example, a less experienced and less thorough professional may see a pressure reading of 25 Pascals (Pa), tell you “It’s a pass,” and move on. However, we track your pressure readings over time. We would look at that 25 Pa and know that your readings are typically closer to 50 Pa. We can identify the fact that you’re trending downward and say, “Yes, this is a pass right now. But it could be a problem very soon.”
We can address a trend before it becomes a problem.
We Can Simplify Your Quarterly Testing
Let us show you the difference between a Part 7 consultant and a Part 7 partner! We can manage all aspects of your fire safety and fire code compliance, including your quarterly testing! Our experts can also help you look ahead to the next inspection, and the one after that.
Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected], or call us at (705) 436-9865 or 1-800-281-8863.