Don’t Add Fuel to the Fire: Five Tips for Proper Fire Protection
Americans are falling under the fury of fires. An American fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds. In 2020 alone, 3,500 civilians died after a fire in their building.
If you are a small business owner, you must pay close attention to fire protection. Protecting your business and employees from fires involves a lot more than just setting up smoke alarms.
How should you prepare for a fire in your building? What tools do you need to protect yourself from a fire? When should you check your smoke alarms?
Answer these questions and you can keep your business safe without disrupting your operations. Here are five tips for fire protection you should follow.
1. Have a Fire Protection Plan
The easiest way to start protecting your business from fire damage is to adopt a fire protection plan. Evaluate how a fire can start in your business, including from electric wiring and faulty appliances.
Then carry out steps that will minimize your risks. This includes designating clear fire exits so everyone can get out during an emergency. You should conduct regular fire drills, making them random so you can simulate an actual fire.
2. Buy Fire Suppression Tools
When people think of fire suppression tools, they usually think about fire extinguishers. You should have an extinguisher in your business, but you need more tools than that. A fire blanket can put out grease fires and smother flames on a person’s clothes.
3. Install Working Smoke Alarms
Your city may require you to install and maintain smoke alarms. Even if you don’t have a legal requirement to install them, you should put them in your small business to keep everyone safe.
You should test your alarms every three months to make sure they are working. They should produce flashing lights so people with impaired hearing know they need to evacuate.
4. Remove Flammable Materials
It is okay to hang up a few paper posters on your walls. But papers should not be near sources of flame and heat, including space heaters.
You should also remove polyurethane foam, which is a common material in upholstery and instrument bezels. When polyurethane catches on fire, it can produce a thick smoke that is toxic to breathe in.
5. Point Reflective Surfaces the Other Way
Putting solar panels on the roof of your small business makes good business sense. You will pay less for electricity and heating, and you may be able to acquire business insurance.
But solar panels can reflect light onto flammable materials, creating a fire. You should visit a website like http://gofloridasolarpanels.com/orlando and find a solar panel company that will install panels facing away from your roof.
Protect Your Business From Fires
Fire protection requires persistence. You need to develop a fire protection plan that pinpoints fire risks and works to eliminate them. You should get fire suppression tools like extinguishers and fire blankets, and you should practice using them.
You should check your smoke alarms on a regular basis and stock them with long-lasting batteries. Remove materials that can catch on fire or produce dangerous smoke. Avoid reflecting lights on your roof and install solar panels that face away from the building.
Fires are just one threat to your business. Read more business safety guides by following our coverage.
