Fires in office properties are a lot more common than people realize. This is why it is important for you to know how to reduce the risk of this hazard as well as how to safeguard your employees at every turn. Here are the top guidelines that you should be following:
Reduce the Risk of Fire Hazards
It doesn’t matter what type of workplace you are in, you can guarantee that there are a number of fire hazards around. In older buildings, old or faulty wiring is usually a concern. In smaller areas there is a greater risk of overloading the system by plugging in too many electronics into a single outlet.
Your first order of business is to cut down on these fire hazards. Hire a professional to come and take a look at the building as well as your office. They will be able to point out any mistakes that you are making and suggest solutions. Make sure to follow these.
Have Alarms in Every Area
Fire alarms in just a few places throughout the office isn’t enough. This is because most alarms can only detect smoke within a specific area. You need to make sure that each and every room, corridor, bathroom, storage room, and other place has a detector. This ensures that you and your employees are immediately notified regardless of where the fire starts.
Install Suppression Systems
Of course, if you really want to assure the safety of your employees, a fire sprinkler system installation may be the way to go. These work as a form of fire suppression – spraying water where needed. Now, these may not work for all types of fires so it is important to choose a system that is right for your workplace.
Set Safety Standards and Reiterate Them
Make sure that you have written safety standards and rules for everyone to follow. This makes it a lot easier for people to remember what they should and shouldn’t do. Don’t just expect people to read or memorize these rules by themselves, however.
This is why you should host safety seminars on a regular basis. Have everyone participate and make sure that the material is in a format that is easy enough for everyone to remember.
Have Regular Fire Drills
Fire drills are the only way to make people aware of what to do in the event of a fire. If you host these drills often enough, you also can guarantee that people will take certain steps automatically. This can save a great deal of time in a real emergency and can end up reducing the risk of injuries and fatalities.
Such drills can be especially important if you have a larger workforce where it is more difficult to coordinate such plans. You may need to run even more drills in such circumstances.
It is vital that you pay attention to proper fire safety equipment, strategies, and protocol in the workplace. When you take such element seriously, you ensure that your employees do as well. In turn, this allows everyone to create a safer environment for all.
