According to a recent Harris Poll, 90 percent of U.S. adults do not test their smoke alarms monthly, as recommended by the NFPA. Additionally, only 26 percent of U.S. adults conduct annual testing. Fortunately, most property managers do somewhat better than the average person when it comes to smoke alarm testing. To determine how well property managers follow National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) code, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) conducted a survey of 316 property managers to find out how often they test their fire alarms. The survey revealed that less than half of property managers (46 percent) test their smoke alarms on an annual basis, as required by NFPA 72. However, nearly the same amount of property managers (41 percent) test their smoke alarms on a quarterly basis, taking up time that could be spent on other managerial tasks.

“Property managers have a responsibility to keep their building occupants safe,” said Tommy Thompson, Vice President, Cintas Fire Protection. “Yet, due to the increasing number of responsibilities on their to-do lists, tasks like testing fire alarm systems may fall off their radar. For others, these tasks absorb precious time that could be focused on other critical areas of property management. Streamlining your fire protection tasks across multiple properties with a single provider can help maintain the continuity of your program.”

Additional key findings of the survey include:

  • Nearly all property managers (92 percent) believe their buildings’ smoke alarms are in good working order and code compliant.
  • Only 50 percent of property managers conduct sensitivity testing on their buildings’ smoke alarms.
  • Less than half of property managers (42 percent) don’t know how often, if at all, sensitivity testing is conducted.
  • A small number (21 percent) of property managers feel confident that they are very familiar with smoke alarm code requirements.

These findings further reinforce the notion that managing a fire protection program on top of other duties, and especially across multiple properties, can be an overwhelming and time-consuming job.

“Working with a third-party vendor to oversee your fire protection program is a smart move to simplify your responsibilities, lighten your load and keep your program consistent,” added Thompson. “It’s important to choose a vendor who can make your fire protection program easier to manage by keeping track of all tests, inspections and maintenance and providing you with a record of everything.”

For information on Cintas fire protection services, please visit www.cintas.com/fire.

Survey methodology:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Cintas from August 26-October 22, 2014 among 316 Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) members. For complete survey methodology, please contact Andi Vance at avance@mulberrymc.com.

About Cintas Corporation:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.