Fire safety should be a concern throughout the year for business owners. Depending on what kind of business you manage, your employees may be spending more time indoors as winter weather hits, turning on heaters and running more electrical devices than in cooler temperatures. Death and injury are, of course, the greatest risks of workplace fires, but those blazes also destroy livelihoods: many workplaces destroyed by fire are never rebuilt.
Keep your employees and your business safe with these fire safety tips:
• Your fire detection and suppression system can be integrated with your existing security system. Speak with an electronic security expert on what comprehensive system is best for your business.
• Practice good workplace housekeeping. Clutter contributes to fires by providing fuel and by preventing access to exits and emergency equipment.
• Personal heaters can, if left unattended, ignite flammable materials. Consider limiting their use. If you do decide to allow employees to use them, make sure the heaters are closely monitored and unplugged when not in use.
• Allow employees to smoke only in designated areas, and make sure they extinguish smoking materials safely.
• Never block sprinklers, firefighting equipment or emergency exits. Observe clearances when stacking materials.
• Maintain free access to all electrical control panels. Material or equipment stored in front of the panels may slow down the safe shutting down of power in an emergency situation.
• Make sure all fire exits are marked and always visible and accessible. Your company should have a written emergency plan and train employees what to do in an evacuation.
• Make sure your staff knows where fire extinguishers are located and how to use them in an emergency. Make sure you have extinguishers suited for the most likely types of fire (electrical, chemical, etc.) you are likely to encounter in the workplace .
Source: Electronic Security Association