Fire In The Workplace

4/20/2022 (Permalink)

Fire prevention in the workplace is a serious matter, and not just because your livelihood is on the line. A fire can put your business at risk, but it can also do the same for the lives of you and your coworkers. Luckily, there are some basic steps you can take to ensure workplace fire safety for everyone who helps keep your business running. Check out the following seven expert tips to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your business and coworkers safe.

1. Create a fire prevention plan. Take the time to create a plan for workplace fire safety. Create guidelines for employees, make a calendar with inspection dates and important maintenance, and share it with everyone at your business.
2. Set a smoke policy. Smoking but it also introduces potential fire hazards. Consider the following as you create a safety-minded workplace smoking policy:
   • Designate smoking and non-smoking areas.
   • Have ashtrays available and make sure people use them.
   • Keep ashtrays clean of other material and away from flammable items.
   • Clean all ashtrays regularly.
3. Place and check fire extinguishers. Like sprinklers, fire extinguishers can sometimes prevent a minor fire from turning into a major disaster. Buy enough fire extinguishers as appropriate for the size of your building, and make sure they’ll be accessible when it matters. That means no junk or equipment making them hard to reach. Putting them under cabinets or on high shelves won’t do much good when a room is full of smoke, either.
4. Check for hazards. Make time on a regular basis to inspect equipment, areas where chemicals are stored and other identified high-risk areas. Perform maintenance on electrical equipment as soon as problems are spotted. Fires are often preventable, and the last thing you want is for your business to be destroyed by a fire that could have been averted through proactive maintenance.