As cold weather approaches in , it's vital that you protect your building's fire suppression system so it not only does its job if there's a fire, but that it doesn't do more damage by freezing up, bursting, and creating massive water damage. O'Connor Insurance wants you and your building to be protected from preventable losses – so keep these helpful tips in mind when you're doing your fall cleanup:

Before the cold weather comes

• Identify personnel assignments for monitoring and procedures
  Make sure you have delegated an employee to monitor for cold temperatures, specifically below 40 degrees Farenheit, and assign appropriate procedures as needed.
• List, inspect, maintain
  Walk around and inspect your sprinkler or water system and set up a process for dealing with pipes that contain water that should be drained before cold weather hits, contain anti-freeze solutions, or are in an unheated area. O'Connor Insurance encourages you to train your employees on the proper inspection of your system. If you need help with an inspection of your fire suppression or HVAC water system, contact us. We can help you conduct a professional loss prevention assessment.
• It's not all about the pipes
  Freeze-ups can occur quickly on sprinkler systems, domestic hot water systems, HVAC or process equipment and the damage can be extensive and costly to your business. But it takes more than just inspecting the pipes. You need to inspect the causes of heat loss in your building that could cause the system to freeze. Be sure you fix broken windows and doors, caulk and insulate as needed, and close unneeded dampers, louvers, vents and openings.
• Always check on your building
  property owners need to make sure that even – perhaps especially – unattended buildings have monitoring in place. Whether you use remote devices to transmit information to you about the building temperature or you hire a security or maintenance service or persons to conduct rounds, it is imperative your unattended building has someone watching and making adjustments to heating or systems as temperatures change.

For more advice and complete help in protecting your business and your employees, contact O'Connor Insurance at 860-388-3549 or get a free business insurance quote today!

O'Connor Insurance can make sure your building coverage is up-to-date before the cold weather comes.