I have previously completed a post entitled ‘When disaster strikes – Disaster Recovery Planning’ which you can find here.
The purpose of the article was to walk you through a live event that I had experienced.
Well, I hate to say it, but here is another to peruse. This time however it focuses on the fact that you may prepare for anything but it is sometimes difficult to predict external factors.
Saturday morning while undertaking some long overdue gardening I received a call from the company that monitors the Archives fire alarm system.
Learning Point 1 – I made this point in the original article above. Having a monitoring service for your Archive might be pricey but when the need arises, every minute counts when it comes to response times to get emergency services on site. However, the response time is hampered if contact numbers are old. The first call was to an old mobile number before finally getting through to me.
Action Point 1 – update the contact list and put it on a schedule to be checked every 6 months and forward this to the monitoring service company
They calmly advised that the buildings fire alarm had been activated, the fire department was on site and an access key was being requested. Just so we are clear – this alerted me to the fact immediately that the building was not on fire. If smoke was pouring out of the building I am confident in saying the fire service would not be standing by waiting for a key.
Upon arrival at the building it was evident that the alarm was coming from the neighboring property. This is where sharing a building can become an issue. With a locked door between what was essentially one building now cut down the middle, we had to make a decision around accessing the other building with no front door key.
Learning Point 2 – ensure you have up to date after hours contact details of your neighbours. I spent a number of minutes tracking down the owner to come to the site with their key.
Action Point 2 – add them to the contacts list and schedule for a check every 6 months as well.
When the fire service accessed the neighbours side of the building the cause of the alarm activation was found to be some insect bug bombs that had been released. As the alarm system works on laser detectors looking for particulates in the air, the fine mist released by the canisters activated the alarm.
Learning Point 3 – when sharing any systems with a neighbour (in this case fire alarm systems and previously a power board) understanding how they work is a good idea.
Action Point 3 – have regular fire drills with the neighbouring property, seek to advise each other on any works that might affect the other and understand how the systems work.
Thankfully there was no real threat of major damage to the Archives. However, this event highlighted to me that as much as I am organised on my side of the building, you cannot work in isolation to your neighbours. There needs to be known and up to date contact points and an understanding of what is happening that could affect each others site. I work hard to ensure all the electrics are isolated on my side of the building. I minimise any potential hazards such as cardboard build up, tripping hazards, clear areas, tidy external grounds and gardens to minimise pests and fire hazards. Yet, something as simple as an event in another business on site could severely compromise all that hard work.
I am in the process of completing the above action points. Are there any you would do differently or add? Feel free to share.
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