Fire life safety is the single best way to ensure firefighters can safely enter a building to fight a fire while allowing the building’s occupants to safely exit. But most of the time, the conversation about fire life safety ends at sprinkler systems and fire alarms.

It’s important that firefighters, fire inspectors, and other authority having jurisdiction leaders understand how the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system plays into fire life safety; how the inspection of fire and smoke dampers and smoke control systems are paramount to their success and gives them a fighting chance during an emergency situation; and how to properly address a concern about the installation and functionality of fire and smoke dampers in a mechanical system.