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October 24, 2014 by Total Fire and Safety
 Halloween is upon us, and although we don’t light jack o’lanterns or don flammable costumes in our offices, it’s important for owners of residential buildings to be somewhat prepared for this fire prone holiday.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, decorations start more than 1,000 home fires per year. From 2006-2010, these fires caused an estimated average of six civilian deaths, 53 civilian injuries, and $16 million in direct property damage per year. For owners of residential buildings and their tenants, there are many good tips on Halloween fire prevention available from NFPA’s Halloween Safety Tip Sheet. It’s information worth passing on to your residents so they stay safe this holiday.
What can owners of residential buildings do to prepare for Halloween?
Fire Alarms in Residential Buildings
Make sure your fire alarms, including your wireless fire alarm monitoring systems, are in working order and in compliance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 72, which provides the latest safety provisions to meet society’s changing fire detection, signaling, and emergency communications demands.
Fire Extinguishers in Residential Buildings
When is the last time you had your fire extinguishers inspected? NFPA 10 states that all portable fire extinguishers should be inspected on a monthly basis and maintained by a licensed fire protection company on an annual basis. Total Fire & Safety performs a multi-point check on all portable fire extinguishers:
*Visual Examination for dents, rust, corrosion, pitting or other shell damage
*Test/Maintenance History to determine the need for internal maintenance or hydrostatic testing
*Pressure Gauge check to insure proper pressurization
*Weight check to verify the correct amount of extinguishing agent
*Discharge Hose inspected for blockage or damage
*Locking Pin inspected so it can be easily deployed in an emergency
*Handle/Lever checked for smooth discharge operation
*Cleaning using a degreasing solution
*Inspection Certification documented by attaching a safety flag and service tag
*Mounting Bracket checked for proper installation on mounting hook or bracket
*Hazard Application reviewed so the fire extinguisher is the correct type for potential fire hazards
Residential Sprinkler Systems
In the event of a fire, the sprinkler systems are critical. Make sure they are recently inspected and ready to go in compliance with NFPA 25-2002. Total Fire & Safety does a comprehensive check of residential sprinkler systems, including inspection of functionality, control valves, and electric alarm operation.
If you own a residential building, be sure your fire safety is up to standard this Halloween. If you need assistance, feel free to call Total Fire & Safety at 630.960.5060.
Category: Fire Alarm Monitoring, Fire Safety, Uncategorized Tags: fire and safety equipment, fire and safety needs, firesafety, holiday fire safety, holiday safety, safety | Comments Off on Halloween Safety Tips for Residential Buildings
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September 26, 2014 by Total Fire and Safety
Total Fire & Safety has completed its installation of the wireless fire alarm monitoring system at the Village Operations Center (VOC) for the Village of Downers Grove. By now, most Downers Grove businesses have received a letter like the one shown below, informing them of the new system and encouraging them to come on board with wireless fire alarm monitoring. The benefits of wireless fire alarm monitoring are many and far outweigh the increased cost of monitoring services. For businesses, the biggest cost saving is the elimination of land lines that can amount to a 70% cost reduction annually in monitoring related service fees.
OTHER FIRE PROTECTION PROVIDERS…..
 AES 7744/7788F Transmitter As a business in Downers Grove, you can contract with any fire protection services provider, however their equipment must be in compliance with the VOC and programmed through Total Fire & Safety. Total Fire & Safety is maintaining the wireless network for the Village, and is therefore in charge of making sure all radios and wireless equipment are programmed correctly and seamlessly connected to the VOC.
The chosen radio unit for the businesses in Downers Grove is the model shown here, the AES Corporation 7744/7788F transmitter. Again, all transmitters, whether purchased through Total Fire & Safety, directly from AES, or through your fire protection provider, must be programmed through Total Fire & Safety.
Total Fire has already held information sessions with other area fire protection services to introduce the new system and review operating regulations and compliance issues with the VOC. If you have a fire protection service provider OTHER than Total Fire & Safety, they should make sure they are in compliance with the VOC specifications and contact Total Fire & Safety for their programming needs.
This is all discussed in the letter below, that they should have received recently from the Downer Grove VOC:
 If you have any questions concerning installation or programming, please contact Jeff Buff, Total Fire & Safety at (630) 960-5060 ext. 121 or click here to contact us and use the promo code DWG for a special introductory monitoring rate for Downers Grove businesses. For any questions concerning permitting or procedures, please contact the Downers Grove Fire Prevention Bureau at (630) 434-5983.
Category: Fire Alarm Monitoring, Uncategorized Tags: Total Fire & Safety, wireless alarm monitoring, wireless fire alarm monitoring, wireless fire alarms | Comments Off on Total Fire & Safety Helping Downers Grove with Wireless Launch
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September 19, 2014 by Total Fire and Safety
We have been very busy lately installing a new wireless fire alarm monitoring system for the Village of Downers Grove, IL. Total Fire & Safety was proud to be selected to install the upgrade, which will allow local businesses to connect wirelessly to the village operations center for more efficient, cost-effective service from their local fire department.
Businesses will be able to cut the cord and “go wireless” in Downers Grove beginning October 1st!
Downers Grove joins other local Chicagoland communities that recognize the savings and efficiency involved in upgrading to wireless fire alarm monitoring. Wireless systems are more reliable than phone lines in receiving fire alarm transmissions to the dispatch center, thereby reducing the amount of false alarms they receive.
For most business owners, changing to a wireless alarm system will be an initial modest investment with an increase in monitoring fees from the village. However, businesses can save up to 70% on their monthly fire monitoring systems by disconnecting the two land lines they will no longer need with the wireless technology. More than 1,000 businesses in the village are now able to upgrade to a wireless system and start saving!
If you are a business in Downers Grove interested in going wireless, hire the company that the Fire Department hired! Enjoy a special introductory monitoring price of $30/month by contacting Jeff Buff at Total Fire & Safety at 630.960.5060 ex. 121 or by submitting the contact form with the promo code DWG. You must also download the application for wireless connection from the Downers Grove website at www.downers.us/bus.
We look forward to helping business owners in the Village of Downers Grove take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade to a safer, faster system! If you would like a free evaluation of your current fire monitoring services, also contact us at 630.960.5060.
Category: Fire Alarm Monitoring Tags: Total Fire & Safety, wireless fire alarm monitoring, wireless fire alarms, wireless fire alarms for business | Comments Off on Downers Grove Gets Ready to Cut the Cord, with Help From Total Fire & Safety
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May 21, 2014 by Total Fire and Safety
Total Fire & Safety is welcoming some new additions to our website, including the “Wireless Fire Alarm Monitoring” page!
More and more municipalities, particularly in Chicagoland, are looking to reduce costs and increase efficiency by mandating wireless fire alarm systems for the businesses in their service area. Wireless fire alarm monitoring is faster, safer, and more reliable than phone- based systems that can fail from environmental factors. Also, with wireless fire alarm systems, businesses can disconnect their unneeded landlines and realize a substantial monthly savings.
Our new page includes information about Vigilant™ fire alarm monitoring equipment, which is our preferred manufacturer of fire safety equipment. Vigilant is an industry leader known for its affordable, yet high-quality products that easily retrofit in single-unit facilities or multi-story office buildings.
We’ve also added new icons on our home page to signify three growing and very important parts of our business—life safety training, first aid supplies and emergency lighting.
A new icon on our home page indicates our established life safety code training service which prepares employees for fire scenarios and teaches them the correct use of fire safety equipment. For businesses where fire prevention is a priority, these classes prepare employees with the information they need to keep themselves, their co-workers, and the facility safe. Classes are held at your location in a classroom setting with a hands-on, live burn session so employees get firsthand experience in extinguishing a fire. Other classes we offer include: hood suppression systems, paint booth suppression systems, proper evacuation procedures, fire sprinkler systems proper apparatus usage and more.
Everyone knows the red cross means safety, and the recently added icon represents our first aid supplies. Our service protects your employees with stocked cabinets of quality first aid supplies that we routinely replenish. When a minor injury occurs, your business is prepared, with the the right supplies on hand. We make the program affordable by only charging for the products your employees use. Our service helps businesses meet OSHA Regulation CFR 1910.151 (b).
Our third new home page icon is the exit sign, which represents our emergency lighting and LED emergency lighting, including signs and combination exit sign and lighting units. We keep your emergency lighting in working order with regular inspections to ensure that all units are in compliance, mounted correctly and free of damage, with batteries charged and bulbs in proper working order. We are also specialists in helping companies convert their emergency signage from conventional light bulbs to LEDs, which has helped many of our clients reduce their service and supply cost.
We regularly provide free evaluations of your existing systems and can make recommendations on how to reduce costs for your company. For more information on our quality products and services, or to schedule an evaluation of your site, visit us at totalfireandsafety.com or call us at 630-960-5060.
Category: Fire Alarm Monitoring, Total Fire and Safety Tags: emergency lighting, fire and safety equipment, fire and safety needs, first aid supplies, life safety training, lifesafety, wireless fire alarm monitoring, wireless fire alarms, wireless fire alarms for business | Comments Off on Announcing….Our New Wireless Fire Alarm Monitoring Page!
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February 21, 2014 by Total Fire and Safety
 Recently, the Bloomingdale Fire Protection District No. 1 made legal changes to the District’s Fire Alarm Monitoring Ordinances. The new ordinance requires businesses to maintain monitoring with a licensed fire alarm company for the transmission of wireless alarm signals to the District’s dispatch center. Although the district has assigned its monitoring agreements to a certain vendor, Bloomingdale businesses now have a choice of fire alarm monitoring service vendors.
Total Fire & Safety responded with a personal invitation to the businesses asking them to choose Total. We offered an introductory package that included installation, connection and maintenance of a high-quality, 4G wireless monitoring system that is fully compatible with the new ordinance. The offer is available now through February 28, 2014.
More and more fire districts are beginning to require wireless fire alarm monitoring over central monitoring systems, which receive signals from fire alarm panels via a phone line. The reasons are many:
–Wireless monitoring creates a reliable, direct connection with the dispatch center, without the opportunity for problems such as grounding failures from copper lines
–Wireless monitoring is less expensive than phone lines
–Wireless monitoring is faster, while delays can occur with signals reaching the central monitoring system.
The consistent, more affordable and reliable system is available now at a discount rate from Total Fire. If you are a business in Bloomingdale, IL needing a vendor to fulfill the new ordinance, we have the equipment and superior customer service you need. If you know of a business in need of a new wireless alarm monitoring service, please have them contact us at info@totalfireandsafety.com.
Category: Fire Alarm Monitoring, Uncategorized Tags: wireless fire alarm monitoring, wireless fire alarms, wireless fire alarms for business | Comments (1)
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Halloween is upon us, and although we don’t light jack o’lanterns or don flammable costumes in our offices, it’s important for owners of residential buildings to be somewhat prepared for this fire prone holiday.
