Greg Rogers, president of the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals, which proposed the change to the ICC says, "Electronically monitored fire extinguishers would be more reliable than their non-monitored counterparts. Their increased safety was the key that led us to endorse the change." The code change takes effect in January 2006.
The ICC allowed electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers in lieu of 30-day physical inspections at the start of 2005. This new amendment of IFC Section 906.2 (2004 Supplement) is another leap forward for electronic monitoring of extinguishers as it changes required maintenance and inspections from once a year to once every three years.
"Our membership determined that constant electronic monitoring is an improvement over manual inspections," says, Jim Tidwell, vice president fire service activities, International Code Council. "They concluded that a three-year inspection is a reasonable back-up measure to the monitoring technology. Overall the intent is to improve the reliability of fire extinguishers and safety for building occupants."
ICC and National Fire Protection Association Codes require commercial occupancies, including office buildings, hospitals, schools, and hotels, to have fire extinguishers on site. Moreover, they require 30-day physical inspections of pressure, presence and obstruction to access for each and every extinguisher. These same codes further require that each year an independent firm conduct similar inspections and maintenance.
