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Tag: <span>safety monitoring</span>

Kirby ElectricBlogsafety monitoring
09 Jan 2015
0 Comments By dev@bigfin.com Uncategorized , ,

5 Power Outage Preparedness Tips

Pouring glass of bottled water
Bottled water can be a safe alternative to tap during power outages

Even one localized power outage can make work and home life uncomfortable and even unsafe. Prepare with these tips from the CDC to ensure safety during the next Washington power outage.

1. Stay Warm

Avoid hypothermia with blankets and layered clothes like jackets, shirts, and sweaters. Top outfits off with a hat (close-fitting stocking caps can be especially insulating against cold). Gloves, scarves, and legwarmers can also aid in maintaining body heat. Exercise is another great way to naturally warm up. If a full workout isn’t possible, even walking around indoors can help.

2. Keep Food Cold

Food in the refrigerator and freezer can be safely eaten if the outage lasts under four hours, the CDC advises. If outages are longer, avoid eating anything spoiled by putting a food thermometer in dishes or fixings before you use them, tossing anything that registers warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Avoid Tap Water

Treated, boiled, or bottled water can be safer than tap if an electricity outage affects the purification process. Tip: bottled water is a great emergency kit component, but don’t forget to check the expiration dates periodically and replace expired bottles as needed.

4. Be Prepared for Power Lines

Do you know what to do if a power line lands on your car while you’re inside? Exit the car only if it is on fire, the CDC cautions. To safely exit, jump out so you are in mid-air before reaching the ground, then shuffle 50 or more feet from the car, keeping both feet in contact with the ground as much as possible.

 5. Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Even in dire circumstances, charcoal grills and camp stoves should not be ignited inside any type of enclosed area or building. When the power is out, gas stovetops and ovens become dangerous, so you’ll need to seek substitute heating and cooking methods. The CDC also recommends mounting a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector that will alert you to danger even if electricity fails.

Stay safe when using generators by never running a generator indoors. Keep your generator as far outside of your home as possible so carbon monoxide stays out of the house and garage.

How can your home or business stay safer during winter storms and electrical outages? Kirby Electric installs systems for carbon monoxide monitoring so you can concentrate on getting through power outages with less stress. Request a quote to learn more about carbon monoxide monitoring and safety systems for your home or workplace.

About Kirby Electric

Kirby Electric is a premier Seattle electrical contractor specializing in commercial and industrial electrical contracting. As your local commercial electrician, we can help with any electrical needs when it comes to upgrading older buildings, including equipment hook ups, rewiring or relocating panels, and lighting upgrades. We also work with electrical companies like Puget Sound Energy, Tacoma Public Utilities, Lakeview Power and others that will provide a rebate for upgrading to a more efficient lighting upon approval of the project. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to get a quote.

11 Dec 2014
0 Comments By dev@bigfin.com Electric News, Low-voltage, Uncategorized , , , ,

New Home Safety Monitoring Light Bulb

safety monitoring
A new Kickstarter Campaign is receiving lots of publicity for its goal: to prevent home burglaries. Boston Business Journal reports on how the Kickstarter BeON Home  hopes to deter criminals—using a light bulb that re-creates lighting habits when residents are away from home, even going so far as to turn on lights when the doorbell sounds.

The new bulb has additional intelligent attributes that users can trigger from an app:

  • Defense against power outages that eliminates returning to a dark house
  • Emergency lighting prompted by smoke detectors
  • Natural fading and dimming that makes indoor light more comfortable

Specs are simple but smart. BeON bulbs rely on 800 lumens of LED, Bluetooth technology, a microphone, processor, and rechargeable battery. Lights transfer information with one another, so every bulb in the building can be smarter and more efficient at all times.

What Could a Security Bulb Do For Businesses?

BeON Home plans to ship their intelligent bulbs out in summer 2015. There’s no information yet on whether the bulb could spawn an idea for commercial light safety, but it could be a promising way to reduce shrink and prevent loss solely or paired with traditional monitoring systems.

Keep Your Business Safe Now

Smart bulbs may not have reached the commercial and industrial markets, but you still have the ability to keep your company’s building safe now. Kirby Fire/Security makes it easier to manage all your monitoring services. Fire alarm design and installation, 24-hour UL monitoring, and CCTV are some of the ways we enhance commercial buildings.

A Strong Case for Effective Safety Monitoring

Commercial safety monitoring is important to a business’ bottom line. Not only does loss prevention affect business plans and budgeting, but damage from a disaster like a fire could potentially raise legal issues if necessary standards aren’t met.

Fire alarm installation is a simple but highly effective way to increase the safety of employees and protect property and products. If you’re unsure whether your business needs fire alarm monitoring, look at the following 2009-2011 statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration:

  • “An estimated 86,500 nonresidential building fires were reported to United States fire departments each year and caused an estimated 85 deaths, 1,325 injuries, and  $2.6 billion in property losses per year.”
  • “Smoke alarms were not present in  52 percent of the larger, nonconfined fires in occupied nonresidential buildings.”
  • “Outside and special properties accounted for the most nonresidential building fires ( 21 percent), while storage buildings accounted for the most nonresidential building fire deaths ( 29 percent).”

Security monitoring is another important way to safeguard against burglary attacks. In burglary cases, the loss isn’t always just from product or equipment theft, but also from damaged sustained to property during break in. Replacing windows and doors adds up to another expense.

The City of Woodinville, WA points out that “Businesses are four times as apt to be burglarized as homes, and small businesses are targets in over half of the commercial burglaries committed.” Among other safety steps, the City recommends not only installing an alarm, but posting visible notices stating an alarm system is in use.

Do you know which monitoring systems your business needs to prevent loss? See the   tools we use to keep businesses protected.

About Kirby Electric

Kirby Electric is a premier  Seattle electrical contractor specializing in commercial and industrial electrical contracting. As your local commercial electrician, we can help with any electrical needs when it comes to upgrading older buildings, including equipment hook ups, rewiring or relocating panels, and lighting upgrades. We also work with electrical companies like Puget Sound Energy, Tacoma Public Utilities, Lakeview Power and others that will provide a rebate for upgrading to a more efficient lighting upon approval of the project. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to  get a quote.