But, according the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, across Melbourne many homes either don’t have one or the ones they do have don’t work properly. More worryingly, their stats indicate that if you fail to have a working smoke alarm in your home or workplace, it’s 57% more likely that you’ll suffer property damage or loss, 26% more likely that someone will be injured and a whopping FOUR times the likelihood of death.

For all commercial premises, and, depending on the type of business you’re operating, the requirements for your site to have what’s known as ‘essential safety measures’ comes into force. These safety measures are contained within the Certificate of Occupancy for the building and must be on display in an accessible spot so anyone can read them.

In addition, the smoke alarms and all other fire equipment must be regularly inspected and maintained by a qualified professional in order for the building to remain compliant, with the option of replacing old alarms with photoelectric smoke alarms. Careful attention must also be paid to ensuring all systems are accessible for people living with a disability.

Navigating the rules and regulations of smoke alarms in commercial buildings can be difficult, but our friendly expert team is here to help! If you have any questions about smoke alarms in Victoria or want to know more about regular scheduled maintenance and inspection, simply give us a call.

The post Make Sure Your Smoke Alarms Are Working appeared first on In2 Fire.

Not only does a complete fire service of your site give your staff and visitors the best chance of evacuating in the event of a fire emergency, but it will keep you compliant with Australian Standards and help you avoid hefty fines, and even legal action.

With over four decades in the fire industry, the expert In2 Fire team have the experience and knowledge to give you the right advice on your site’s requirements.

When visiting your business premises, our experts will look for a range of things, including:

• the type of business you’ll be operating
• flammable and hazardous goods that will be stored / used on site
• power sources, including solar panels or LP gas tanks
• sources of heat, including commercial or staff kitchens
• all exit points

Following our site visit, we’ll provide you with:

• a customised quote
• advice on Australian Standards and Victorian emergency services requirements
• information about our 12 month equipment warranty program 
• information on our ongoing fire equipment service and maintenance program

This is just a snapshot of what our experts look for and what we can offer your business premises, but for a full run down on how we can help you become fire safe, or to book an appointment, simply give our friendly Melbourne fire service team a call.

The post Visiting Your Site – What Our Fire Services Experts Look For appeared first on In2 Fire.

While the process for identifying a fire, responding to it and using a fire extinguisher might seem simple, the reality can be quite different. Keeping your cool and handling the fire extinguisher while there’s the noise of the smoke alarm, the panic of people around you and a natural desire to escape, isn’t easy!

Fire training sessions run by our expert team aren’t just about picking up an extinguisher and squirting some water – as important as this is to know. Our well-run sessions will give your team the confidence to identify a dangerous situation and how to respond; a small paper fire in a bin requires a much different response to a spreading electrical fire in a warehouse, for instance.

Our fire safety training sessions will help you and your team to:

• safely identify a fire event
• alert your fire warden or initial response personnel
• have the confidence to respond appropriately
• know when a fire can be dealt with and when to call emergency services
• know what the fire alarm sounds like and how to evacuate your building, factory or warehouse
• understand where emergency assembly points are

Fire training sessions are conducted at your site for small groups of 20 people at a time, so each person can hear and understand exactly what their responsibilities are during a fire emergency.

We invite you to start 2018 with fire safety in mind by booking your staff in for fire safety training with one of our industry experts. Simply call our friendly fire equipment services team to find out more.

The post What is Fire Training & Why Should You Organise It For Your Staff? appeared first on In2 Fire.

There are a number of different types of smoke alarms, including ionising or carbon monoxide or dioxide. However, we’re going to look at photoelectric smoke alarms as new federal fire safety laws that came into effect on 1 January 2017 state that all existing or old smoke alarms must be replaced by photoelectrics.

A common misunderstanding is that smoke alarms are activated by heat. In fact, it’s the smoke that causes the high pitched beeping that alerts you to a problem in your office or factory. Contained within the unit are a series of small photodetector light beams in a chamber. When smoke enters the chamber, the light beams are interrupted; kind of like when you enter the door of a shop and the ‘bing-bong’ sound goes as the sensor light beam is broken.

The particles within the smoke are actually what is breaking the photodetectors – particles of matter released by the burning material. This is why photoelectric smoke alarms are so good for homes and offices, as most fires within such buildings start as a smouldering flame, such as when a cigarette is dropped on a mattress. This means photoelectric smoke alarms can detect fires very quickly, giving you greater time to fight the fire or evacuate yourself and others.

Photoelectric smoke alarms are also very effective for people living with a disability, particularly those who are hearing impaired, as they can be fitted with emergency lights or heat sensors.

Overall, a smoke alarm is of ingenious design and have dramatically cut the chances of being seriously injured or killed in a fire – in same cases by over 50% – since it was introduced in the late 1960s.

For more information on our fire equipment services, or to have one of our expert team come out to your office, factory or warehouse to install photoelectric smoke detectors, simply give us a call or contact us online today!

The post Smoke Alarms – How Do They Work? appeared first on In2 Fire.

Here in Melbourne, winter is also the time when our home heating systems get dusted off, whether that’s a gas ducted heating, wood stove or portable electric oil heater. But… did you know that more deaths occur during winter months due to fireplaces or heating systems causing a house fire?

So, in the lead up to the cooler weather, we thought we’d run through a few simple things you can do to keep you and your family safe this winter.

#1 – Get Your Heating System Serviced

If your heating system hasn’t been checked by a qualified professional for a while, then now’s the time to do it. Only use reputable technicians – you can usually find recommendations for your local area online – and get your heating system checked and serviced, including any portable heaters you might have.

#2 – Check Around Fireplaces, Ducts and Units

Placing clothing or other items too close the heating units is one of the major causes of house fires. Make sure any heating element is clear of anything flammable, including curtains, furniture and even pets!

#3 – Check Your Fire Safety Equipment is Up to Date

If you have a wood fire stove of any description, then we highly recommend storing a fire extinguisher nearby in case of any incidents. Small fire extinguishers can be found at hardware stores, or we can supply them for your home and vehicle. Being able to fight a fire before professional fire crews arrive, can mean the difference between life and death. Of course, in most cases you should evacuate your home if there is a fire.

If you have any questions, would like to know more about winter fire safety, or source a fire blanket or home fire extinguisher in Melbourne, please give the team at In2 Fire a call!

The post Getting Ready For Winter appeared first on In2 Fire.

Depending on your industry and whether you use liquid chemicals, gases or electrical equipment, your fire risk falls into certain classes that need a corresponding fire extinguisher.

Why? Because a water fire extinguisher used on burning electrical equipment can cause a far greater problem than if the correct Co2 extinguisher is used. In fact, using the wrong extinguisher can cause injury or death.

For a complete run down on classes of fire, type of fire extinguishers and how our tech team can help you keep your business safe, please see our Fire Extinguishers page!

The post Learn More About Fire Extinguishers appeared first on In2 Fire.

While the threat of fire at your business premises might be the last thing on your mind as you think about Christmas presents and barbecued prawns, it’s important to ensure you’ll still have a business run in 2017!

This summer will be one of the hottest fire seasons yet, so it’s important to ensure you’re covered for all eventualities.

Our technician team still have appointments available to visit and check your businesses fire equipment, including fire extinguishers, fire hose reels, fire hydrants, sprinkler systems, fire doors and smoke alarms.

Our team will work closely with you in your role as business owner, property manager or body corporate to ensure all your fire equipment is compliant with current Australian health and safety laws and that all items of fire equipment will perform optimally when and if they are needed.

Booking a pre-Christmas fire equipment maintenance check is easy and will bring you untold peace of mind as you sit down and tuck into your festive lunch!

Simply call our friendly team on 8781 0100 or contact us online to book your business or commercial premises in for a fire equipment safety check.

The post Beat The Christmas Rush appeared first on In2 Fire.

But, if you’re an event organiser, you know how much work goes into making sure it runs smoothly and safely for everyone involved, particularly members of the public.

Whether your event, festival or trade show is open air in a country paddock or a highly patronised show at Jeff’s Shed, our qualified and experienced team are here to help you keep your event fire compliant through our fire equipment hire and inspection services.

To save you money and storage space, we offer hire stands for events with packages that can be tailored to your specific needs.

We can supply standalone fire stands, a stand with 1 x 9kg chemical fire extinguisher, 2 x 9kg chemical fire extinguisher or fire extinguishers only.

We can conduct an onsite inspection of your event venue, provide you with a detailed hire quote for equipment and then deliver and install all fire equipment at the venue in the days before opening, then pack them down at conclusion.

For longer running events, or even construction sites, we can set up a monthly fire equipment hire charge, a more cost effective way to keep your site safe and compliant.

To discuss your event, trade show or festival fire equipment hire needs, give our team at In2 Fire a call on 8781 0100 or check out our website.

The post Fire Equipment Hire For Events and Trade Shows appeared first on In2 Fire.

Lindsay Kline, the founder of KlineFire Services (now known as In2 Fire), was also a prominent cricketer, known for his slow left arm spin goggly bowling and for taking a hat trick without conceding a single run in the 1958 Test in Cape Town, South Africa.

“There was great excitement for our Test win and my hat trick. It took me days to sink in that I had taken a hat trick. I was amazed when told that the previous Test hat trick by an Australian was 46 year ago,” Lindsay told the media at the time of the Test match.

He was also acclaimed for saving the Australian team from certain defeat in the Adelaide test match against the commanding West Indian team; he held his batting position for 100 minutes, allowing his team to draw in a cricketing display that was described by the media as a ‘fairytale performance’.

Sadly, Lindsay passed away in 2015 aged 81, leaving the business he started in 1964 with just one employee in the hands of his two sons, Tony and Andrew, and a team of over 20 people.

Despite building the business up to the successful, industry leading fire equipment services supplier it is today, Lindsay always remembered his cricketing days with great fondness, once recalling that “one of the special things I remember is being given the honour of leading our team from the field.”

KlineFire Services today still runs on the same foundation of integrity and trust that Lindsay built it on all those years ago – though as of September 2017, it is known as In2 Fire.

For any fire equipment maintenance, fire equipment installation, or fire equipment services, In2Fire is the team to turn to. Simply call our friendly team on 8781 0100 or check out our website.

The post KlineFire Services’ Sporting Origins appeared first on In2 Fire.

From illuminating stairwells and hallways, right through to alarms and sirens, effective emergency exit lighting helps calm people down and saves lives in the event of an incident.

These emergency exit signs are particularly important for large events in spaces that people are usually visiting for the first time and simply won’t be familiar with the exits and evacuation points.

However, as with any electrical appliance, things can and do go wrong with emergency exit sign units… wires fray, light bulbs dim, a water leak might affect the lighting unit and so on.

As part of our emergency exit light service, our team conducts over 59,000 minutes of emergency lighting and emergency exit sign testing each year, so our clients remain compliant and, above all, safe. If you have any concerns with the quality of the emergency exit lighting and signage at your business premises, or if you haven’t had your emergency exit lighting units tested every six months in accordance with Australian law, it’s time to do it now!

To have In2 Fire test your emergency exit signs and emergency exit lights at your place of business, simply call our friendly team on 8781 0100.

The post The Importance of Emergency Exit Signs and Lighting appeared first on In2 Fire.