People go to work every day, expecting it to be like every other day. Some productive work, some chatting, a bit of networking, some meetings.
Unfortunately, you never know when a normal workday will become an emergency. There are over 3,000 fires at offices each year. Is your business ready for a fire emergency?
If you’ve created a plan for fire safety in the workplace, the answer is yes. Here are some steps you can take to make your workplace safer for those days when the unexpected happens.
Create Policies for Fire Prevention
The best fire is one that never happens. With the right fire safety, you can prevent most emergencies and make your office safer for employees.
Have regular fire inspections where professionals point out possible hazards. Then, take action to fix those problems right away.
Outside of annual inspections, make sure you keep break areas clean, electrical cords in great condition, and avoid overloading plugs or circuits. A daily visual inspection by your management team — and action to fix problems — can prevent a lot of emergencies.
Have a Clear Evacuation Plan
Most people associate fire drills with elementary school, but the truth is that evacuation plans should be practiced by people at every age. We often don’t want to interrupt our daily work to practice a fire drill, but it’s a good idea at least once a year.
In an emergency, people can panic and forget what seems like common sense. That’s why having regular drills is important — it makes evacuation slightly more routine, which can make a big difference in a real fire.
If you aren’t able to have fire drills, at least go over the evacuation plan with your staff frequently. It should also be clearly posted in a variety of places throughout the workplace.
Make Sure Safety Equipment is Easily Accessible
Do your employees know where your fire extinguishers are? How about safety shields and blankets?
In an emergency, you want safety equipment to be quickly available to those who need it. Make sure you train your employees regularly about where these items are located and how to use them.
Doing simulated fire training can help an employee be more capable with a fire extinguisher, blanket, or other safety equipment when it really counts. Don’t wait until everyone is panicked and flames are growing to show people how to use these items!
Fire Safety in the Workplace is Essential
As you can see, fire safety in the workplace is really about having the right training and equipment available for emergency situations. When you do, everyone will be able to exit quickly and safely if a fire happens.
If a small fire occurs, having access to safety equipment can mean the difference between a major structure fire and a minor incident. Help employees learn where these tools are and how to use them.
If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love our other business content. Check out more of our blog today.
Comments are closed.