workplace fire safety
Guide to workplace fire safety
Fire outbreak in the workplace always seems to happen to “someone else”. Many business owners have this perspective when it comes to workplace fire safety, but fire safety is hugely important to risk management and needs to be handled appropriately.
Fire damage can be devastating to businesses and even unrecoverable in terms of expensive equipment or even reputation. It can also leave employees and customers injured or worse. Most workplaces have room for improvement in fire protection, read on to find out more about how you can protect your work environment.
Workplace Hazards
First and foremost, keeping your workspace clean is an important part of fire safety, along with having other health benefits. A work environment containing clutter can potentially contain fire hazards, contributing the “fire load” of the building. This can result in a higher risk of fire spread and reduce the effectiveness of the fire suppression systems.
Stock and flammable materials should be stored safely. If not directly needed in the workplace, these materials should be stored elsewhere, where they pose less threat to the safety of the people. The materials should also be stored safely, in fire-resistant containers or cabinets.
Also, ensuring waste is promptly removed from the workplace and does not build up improves the fire safety of the environment. As waste can be both hazardous and flammable, along with potentially taking up space in the workplace, it adds to the fire load of the building and increases the risk of damage and spread in the event of a fire.
Fire Equipment
Equipment providing both reduced risk of fire in addition to the ability to alert and manage the fire before it gets out of control. Workplace fire safety includes smoke alarms, emergency lighting, fire exit signs, and fire prevention systems such as sprinklers and extinguishers. You should ensure that your workplace is protected by these systems.
With BAFE accredited fire safety specialists across the UK, find your local NSR Member to find out more about how you can further protect your business.
Risk Assessments
Reducing the risk of fire spread, fire safety equipment can prevent fires from occurring in addition to extinguishing fires. Without fully knowing the risks of your workplace, you cannot implement effective safety measures.
In addition to being an important part of the safety and security of your business, risk assessments become a legal requirement for businesses over 5 employees.
With a goal to identify potential fire hazards, risk assessments should be conducted to assess the risk level of aspects within a building and how fires can be effectively extinguished. It is important to continue to review risk assessments regularly to ensure long-term fire safety.
Get in touch with one of our experienced partners in fire safety to find out more about performing a risk assessment.
Training
Ensure proper training for employees to prepare them for fire outbreak. In order for safety measures to be effective, suitable training needs to be in place for employees for where to go in the event of a fire, how to raise the alarm and safely evacuate the building.
Poorly trained staff can make a bad situation worse. However, with training and experience with the use of fire drills, staff can learn what to do in a situation of emergency and learn protocols for escorting people out of buildings and grouping at an assembly point.
Electrical Safety
Most modern businesses make use of electrical appliances of some sort, which immediately creates a fire risk. Minimising risks such as overloaded plug sockets or faulty wiring greatly decreases the risk of fire. One way of ensuring the safety of electrical equipment is to make sure all equipment is inspected on a regular basis and PAT tested. To resolve these issues, get rid of faulty wiring and electricals as quickly as possible and ensure that plug sockets aren’t being overloaded.
Want to upgrade your fire fire safety equipment? Get in touch with EFire to find out more.
Fire Wardens
It is recommended that a workplace has a minimum of 1 fire warden. Fire warden is a role given to an employee that gives them responsibility for maintaining fire safety procedures in the buildings. Also, in the event of a fire, the designated fire wardens will also need to streamline the evacuation process, ensuring that no one remains inside the evacuated building.
After completing fire warden training, these staff members should be able to maintain fire safety procedures and protocols to ensure that the business is safe.
local NSR Members
Search the UK for your local NSR Member
If you are in need of fire protection services, specifying NSI companies will provide you with industry leading security products and services. This ensures that your property meets all the appropriate standards is regularly inspected by a NSI licenced UKAS accredited certification body.
Many of our members have previous experience working with Government and local councils - their expertise when it comes to Fire and Security systems is vital when protecting high-risk environments.
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