Author: Eddie Jett
I want to talk about something that we have, or we will all run up against at some point in our careers as fire protection Inspectors. I call it “Old Man Intimidation.” First off, let me explain what I mean by this crazy statement. Have you ever done an inspection for a customer and the 30 year veteran maintenance supervisor really doesn’t have time for you and says, “this is how we do it around here?” Maybe it’s your first time there and you’re trying to get the lay of the land and figure out where everything is. It may be a new customer and you have not developed a good working relationship with them yet and you don’t want to rock the boat, so you just go along with whatever they tell you.
Case in point: I did an inspection that had 5 double interlock pre-action systems throughout the building. One of these systems covered a server room that was protected under the Homeland Security Act, which I had to be escorted by security the whole time I was there. These systems actuated with your typical loss of air and two cross-zoned smoke detectors to activate the solenoid. Not a big deal, right? It’s not, except that I never tested the smokes to activate the solenoid. But why not Eddie? Because “this is how we do it around here” is what was told to me from day one of that inspection. I was intimidated and just went along with it. The fire alarm system was a Gamewell, and the solenoids (of all 5 systems) could be activated at the main computer without the hassle of smoking the detectors, so that’s what we did. So, for 12 years, that’s how it was done. I would drop the air pressure, they would activate the solenoid module and TA-DA!!, the system would trip.
Here’s the good part… I finally mentioned to the nice gentleman that oversaw the fire alarm system that I would like to actually smoke the detectors in order to activate the solenoid the correct way. To his chagrin, we did just that. We smoked the first detector and received the alarm. We smoked the second detector, in order to cross-zone the two detectors and we received the alarm. Nothing. We smoked the third and fourth detectors in the same room and once again, nothing. Every detector in that covered room was in alarm and my solenoid was still holding strong…. Uh-Oh. My anxiety level immediately sky rocketed as I gazed at all of the green tags that I had hung on that riser over the years. I was a wreck but the guy that was responsible for the fire alarm system was even more shook than I was. Why? Because he installed the fire alarm system in 1990… We discovered this in 2017. So, for 27 years, that pre-action system (and the other 4 in the building) would have NEVER worked. The smoke detectors dedicated to the pre-action systems were NEVER programmed in the panel to activate the solenoids. Guess what??? They are now!
I learned my lesson that day. I also escaped what could have been an extremely large liability claim against our company, not to mention the loss of my job.
So, the moral of the story is this… DO YOUR JOB. Do it correctly. Test things the way that they are going to work when you’re not there. Don’t isolate the air supply when you trip dry, pre-action or deluge valves. Don’t pull the manual release on a pre-action system and call it good. Go look at every sprinkler head, nozzles, piping, etc…. on your visual inspection. Is the fire pump going to work when needed? So why did you turn it off during inspection and testing? Is it going to be off after you leave? Do you see where I’m going with this? If for whatever reason you can’t test or inspect the system the CORRECT way or are intimidated by the customer, I have three rules for you… 1)Document 2)Document 3)Document…
Write that &$!#% down!
It can be as simple as this… “Per the customer’s request, the fire pump was shut off during ITM activities.” This is not a deficiency and nobody is in trouble, we are just stating a fact. This removes the liability from you and puts it back onto the owner or owners representative. Oooooo…. I like that!
Don’t forget, we work in a world of LIABILITY and LAWYERS so we must document everything, good or bad, right, wrong or indifferent. Don’t be intimidated, just do your job and do it correctly. Your company (and your job) depends on it.
Stay safe out there and be a leader!
Eddie
