Photo of the day: Fire Safety checklist for workplace

Organizations are vulnerable to a number of threats, both to their people and to their ability to maintain business continuity. From violent weather and natural disasters to power outages and acts of violence, an organization must deal with the pressure of preparing for the unexpected and protecting its people.

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When it comes to a workplace fire incident, there are few scenarios more frightening.

Unpredictable, life-threatening, and difficult to recover from, a major fire in the workplace can disrupt operations for weeks or even months.

Protecting your organization from the threat of fires begins with prevention. While some situations are out of a company’s control (wildfires or arson, for example), most workplace fires can be avoided with a few extra precautions.

Assessing how your structure, facility, or site carries unique risks is the first step in understanding how to avoid a fire or mitigate the impact if one does occur. Designating a willing person (or persons) to handle fire safety will help with comprehensive oversight of your organization’s preparedness.

Tip #1: Assign Fire Safety Roles

If your organization hasn’t assigned at least one person (ideally, a team of people) to oversee fire safety, this should be your organization’s first priority.

Every business should find at least one person to serve as their Fire Warden. Some candidates who might make sense for the role include your company’s Office Manager, Facility Manager, Safety Manager, or Human Resources Manager.

This person or team should develop a clear understanding of what conditions might lead to a workplace fire and how your organization currently sizes up.

Fire Warden Tasks:

Assist in implementing and improving effective emergency procedures in your workplace
Conduct a thorough walkthrough of your company’s workspace to assess fire hazards
Raise awareness (with both leadership and staff) about existing fire hazards
Document risk areas and work with leadership to resolve them
Help prevent emergencies by evaluating fire risk control measures
Educate employees on how to respond to an emergency
Plan and execute regular fire drills
Continue with routine fire prevention walkthroughs

Keep in mind that it’s important to assign a specific person responsible for workplace fire risk and prevention.

Other fire safety tasks:

Someone needs to be in charge of overall fire prevention efforts. But if your organization is more than 50 people, fire planning can become complicated. You’ll need to build a team of responsible individuals who can help the Fire Warden with important tasks. Other duties that should be delegated to members of your team include:

Maintaining accountability of individuals and reporting to leadership
Ensuring doors are closed and evacuation routes are clear
Assisting mobility-impaired staff
Ensuring affected areas are clear and collecting stragglers

Tip #2: Identify Risks in the Workplace

The threat of most workplace fires could be extinguished well before the initial spark. In fact, there are a variety of factors that place a business at higher risk of a fire incident occurs. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) lists some of the most common causes of workplace fires in an effort to educate every employee. While the following list is not comprehensive, it does cover the most common workplace fire hazards:

Cooking Appliances
Electrical Wiring
Power Strips (overloaded)
Lighting Equipment
Heating Appliances
Arson
Smoking Materials
Exposure
Office/Entertainment Equipment

Common Causes of Workplace Fires

Your Fire Warden should conduct a thorough walkthrough of your organization’s structure, keeping a critical eye on the high-risk areas listed above. Once a potential hazard has been identified, they should develop plans to fix the issue, educate employees on proper use, or remove the risk entirely.

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Tip #3: Pay Attention to Fire Prone Areas

Because there are varying factors from one industry to the next, there is no fire safety panacea that’s going to work across the board. That said, there are common areas within many conventional work environments that should be viewed as a higher risk.

Just over one-fifth of reported workplace fires over a five-year period started in an office kitchen or cooking area. Any structure with a kitchen containing a toaster oven, microwave, or heating appliance is vulnerable.

It should also be noted that while only 2% of fires began in a workplace’s ceiling/attic area, those fires were responsible for 13% of direct property damage. Of course, every area of the office should be given equal attention, but it’s helpful to understand fire-prone areas of your workspace and what points of origin produce the most damage.

There are also precautions every business should take to lessen the impact of fire does occur. These include minimizing loose paper throughout the office, properly storing flammable materials, and instructing all employees on fire response prevention and protocol.

Maintain functional appliances (both in the kitchen and elsewhere) and conduct routine electrical inspections to help mitigate the risk of a fire incident occurs.

Tip #4: Understand Industry Needs

In 1991, a Hamlet, North Carolina poultry plant with 90 employees inside went up in flames. One of the plant’s deep fryers ignited into a fireball that quickly spread throughout the structure. Many of the fire exits were locked, the building’s sprinkler system failed, and the company had no fire evacuation plan in place.

(Learn More:fire-emergency-evacuation-plan-and-the-fire-procedure)

Sadly, 25 workers perished in the fire.

In its 11 years in operation, the plant had never received a proper safety inspection. It’s clear the loss of life could have been mitigated had the facility been equipped with a proper fire extinguishing system, functional exits, and a rehearsed evacuation plan.

Businesses will have specific industry considerations when it comes to fire safety. For example, the Hamlet poultry plant required a specialized carbon dioxide fire extinguisher above their fryers that likely would not exist outside of a food manufacturing or restaurant environment.

The banking industry, with a dispersed office environment, will have multiple branches to take into consideration. In addition to bank tellers and employees, banks will need to protect customers in the event of a structural fire.

Similarly, the health care industry has a wide variety of staff they’ll need to keep safe (nurses, doctors, technicians) as well as patients to consider in the event of a fire.

Understanding the industry-specific fire risks your place of business faces is essential to maintaining a safe work environment.

Tip #5: Educate Employees on Fire Safety Guidelines

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires organizations, depending on specific industry and hazardous materials present, to follow strict safety guidelines. In addition, businesses have a duty of care obligation to their employees. This legal and moral responsibility requires that employers do everything within their power to keep their people out of harm’s way.

But regardless of the legal obligation, every organization should be committed to a safe working environment. And that begins with education.

The following OSHA fire prevention guidelines can help businesses fulfill their duty of care and train employees on fire prevention and safety.

Every organization’s fire prevention plan should be done in writing, posted visibly in the workplace, and made available for all employees to review. Some key components:

Clearly articulate all major fire hazards
Instruct employees how to properly handle and store hazardous materials
Educate employees on potential ignition sources and their control
Communicate what fire protection equipment is in place to handle each major hazard
Communicate evacuation protocol and how to use your company’s emergency notification system
Include procedures to control the accumulation of flammable and combustible waste materials
Include safeguards installed on heat-producing equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of combustible materials
Develop a list that contains the names/job titles of internal fire safety wardens

It should be noted that employers must inform their people of any fire hazards they could be exposed to while performing on the job. In addition, employers should also review the fire prevention plan with all employees.

Tip #6: Use a Fire Safety Checklist

Protecting your business from workplace fires starts with understanding the risks your organization faces. The task might feel overwhelming, which is why a simplified checklist is a great starting place.

AlertMedia produced a Fire Safety Checklist to help organizations both pre-and post-fire. Download this checklist today to ensure your bases are covered.