Wondering how you can prevent fires at your workplace? Here’s everything you need to know about mitigating the risk of fires at your fireplace!
Workplace fires are a lot more common than you would think. This is why you need to do everything to prevent it from happening. Not only can these fires damage your office machinery, equipment, and premises, but in the worst case, they can even lead to the loss of human lives.
Here is a list of tips by restoration companies that can help prevent office fires.
Ensure that All Your Fire Protection Equipment is Accessible
Firstly, ensure that all of your fire protection equipment such as fire extinguishers, control panels are easily accessible. Secondly, regularly check if your fire alarms and fire sprinklers are not getting blocked with paint, debris, or dust. Proper functionality and accessibility of your fire protection equipment can help prevent fires.
Identify Risks in the Workplace
The risk of a workplace fire can be eliminated well before the first spark. Several factors make a business more vulnerable to a fire incident. Here is a list of some of the most common workplace fire hazards:
- Electrical wiring
- Heating appliances
- Flammable chemicals
- Overloaded power strips
- Lighting equipment
- Arson
- Smoking materials
- Cooking appliances
Assign an employee to conduct a regular examination of your organization’s structure while keeping an eye out on the high-risk spots mentioned above. If they identify a potential hazard, they should report it immediately and work to remove it completely.
Store Safely
If there are any hazardous substances such as flammable chemicals or materials in your workplace, make sure that they are stored in a safe place. Ideally, these items should be stored in a secure, dry room or closet that has proper ventilation. It’s a great practice to keep fire protection equipment for flammable items close to where they’re being stored.
Designated Smoking Corners
Your workplace needs to have a designated smoking corner that’s a safe distance away from your building. Also, provide ashtrays and other safe options for employees to properly dispose of their cigarettes. This will protect your building from accidental fires resulting from lit cigarettes.
Keep Your Workplace Clean
There are several reasons why you need to keep your workplace clean. One of the most important reasons amongst them is that when there’s a lot of mess, especially flammable items like boxes, paper, etc. a fire can spread more quickly. Unnecessary things can even block exits and make it difficult for people to escape in case a fire erupts.
Follow the NFPA & OSHA Guidelines
Both NFPA and OSHA provide a set of guidelines and rules to protect workplaces from fires. You should ensure that you thoroughly meet all of the guidelines listed by them to stay safe and secure.
If your workplace has recently experienced a fire, get in touch with a fire damage restoration service to return your property to its original state.
S.T.O.P provides 24/7 fire emergency services to help you minimize damage from the fire.
