FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

As per Ontario Fire Code, all stores must have an inspection of their extinguishers, emergency lights, exit signs and routes of egress every 12 months by a company such as Evergreen.

Additionally, stores are required to check their extinguishers and momentarily test their emergency lights once per month. This is done as part of your monthly Health & Safety Audit.

Fire alarm and sprinkler systems are generally the responsibility of your landlord. If the LCBO is the landlord, these systems are done as part of your regular, scheduled inspection every 12 months. We also advise and train store staff on how to complete their own, periodic maintenance of these systems to ensure their correct operation.

Event kitchen systems require inspection every 6 months, even if they have not been in use.

Evergreen has a comprehensive system in place to ensure that all stores receive the correct inspections on schedule. If your store was inspected in March of last year, you can be sure that you will see us before the end of March this year.

That being said, if you are at all curious, never hesitate to send us an email and we’ll let you know what inspections you are due for and when you are due

Every store that passes inspection annually receives a certificate via email shortly after our visit. If you have misplaced your certificate, please let us know and we’ll be happy to provide you with another copy.

Every time one of our technicians visits your store, they leave behind a copy of a service report that should be kept on hand to confirm when your inspections are due. The date of our visit also appears on the fire extinguisher tags we install, and remain in effect for 12 months from the month of our visit.

Should you require further reports (ie. a written report of your fire alarm or sprinkler inspection, there are two potential sources for these.

1. If your landlord does the inspection, they should provide a copy of the inspection report to be kept onsite at the store, should the fire department wish to see it.
2. If the LCBO are responsible for the inspection, they will be able to provide the reports to you directly and you can then pass them along to the fire department

The protocols that we have in place allow us to stay on top of inspections and you can rest assured that, when your store is due, we will be in touch, either by email or phone a day or two before our visit.

If you are a new manager, or are at all unsure, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to confirm your inspection month for you.

The majority of times that you will need to use an extinguisher, it will be at the front or rear exit of your store (garbage bin fires, fire in the mulch out front or maybe even an issue with a vehicle). As these are the most common extinguishers called in to service, it is important that a fully charged extinguisher be in place at these locations. Take a fully charged extinguisher from another location, preferably where there are a couple within sight, and put it in place of the used one. Now take the used extinguisher and put it in the office so that no one reaches for it in an emergency (this applies even if it was only partially used). Then simply drop us a line and we’ll create a service ticket, attending your store as quickly as possible to exchange the used extinguisher with a fully charged and tagged one.

Call or email us and we will send you a replacement tag (and a seal to attach it with) to use for monthly checks until we complete you next annual inspection. The tag should not be installed through the pull pin; we suggest using another extinguisher as a template for how to install the replacement.

When 12 months have passed, we have a comprehensive system that reminds us when each location is due for inspection. Rest assured that, when 12 months have passed, you will hear from us via phone or email to let you know when to expect our technicians.

This is likely because the extinguisher has been checked more than once per month since our last visit, filling the tag prematurely. You can add a post it note for more checks or jot them on the side of the chart. More is surely better than less, of course.

Every year, when we complete your inspection, we apply a new tag to each extinguisher. On one side is a record of what we did and when and on the reverse side is a list of items that should be checked each month and a place for initials once per month. When the tag is full, you can expect to see us for your next inspection.

We can ship you one of those too, just drop us a line or call us.

Ontario Fire Code states that emergency lighting should safely illuminate your store for a minimum of 30 minutes, allowing you time to safely evacuate and lock up or for the power to return. The units are not designed to allow you to continue to do business for extended periods of time, of course.

If you have had frequent and/or recurring power outages, it will take some time for the batteries to become fully recharged once the AC power is restored. So, if your power went out for an hour and a couple of days later goes out again but the lights don’t last 30 minutes, this is not unusual. We recommend waiting a week or so and testing the lights again; if they fail, you likely need the batteries replaced.

As noted on the bottom of the service report that we leave behind each time we visit, emergency lighting should be tested momentarily once per month. You can use one of two methods.

1. Gently depress the test switch on the side of the emergency light unit, ensuring that all lamps come on for at least a minute.
2. For most locations, emergency lighting is all tied to a single, dedicated breaker, which should be marked on your electrical panel. If you choose to trip this breaker to test the emergency lighting, please be sure to return to the panel and reset the breaker within a few moments. Failure to reset this breaker could lead to the premature need to replace your emergency light batteries.

If the lights fail to come on at all during testing, that often means that a lamp has burnt out and requires replacement (lamps generally last 3-5 years, depending on usage, load and the conditions). We do not suggest doing this yourself; it’s our job and, if the wrong lamp is installed, more damage could be incurred. Simply note which lights and drop us a line. We’ll be happy to come address it for you.

If the lights come on but fade out quickly, that usually indicates that your batteries are running low (under normal conditions, batteries last approximately 3-5 years but, again, this varies based on usage, load and the conditions). As noted above, this might be because you have had recent outages.

If you have not had recent outages, you should place a service request and we’ll attend your store and repair the unit as quickly as possible.