Five office fire safety tips

Fire safety measures are an important part of keeping your business secure against a serious risk. If a fire breaks out in your office it can not only put your staff in serious danger, but it can also irreparably damage elements of your business and result in a loss of critical data that your company depends on. Of course, there are many tips that are actually simply a legal requirement for the office. These include ensuring that you have a fire safety assessment in place, that electric safety regulations are followed, and that you have all of the relevant fire safety equipment in the office in the event of a fire breaking out. In this blog, however, we offer further fire safety tips to help ensure that your office is safe and secure as possible against the risk of a fire breaking out. 1 – Clear the floor Physical hazards on the floor of the office can be a significant issue around fire safety. If the floor is cluttered, this adds to the ‘fire load’ of an area. This effectively means there are more items in the workplace that can catch fire and act as fuel. You should make sure that your office is regularly tidied and decluttered – it can be easy for this to sneak up on you, as the floorspace gradually gets more and more loaded with items that don’t need to be there. 2 – Ensure your fire detection systems are in good working order Yes, it may be a legal requirement to have your fire sprinkler systems checked on a regularly basis. But you do not need to only follow the minimum levels for compliance. To be completely safe it is generally better to ensure that you schedule regular maintenance and ongoing checks. This can be the best way to maximise fire safety. 3 – Re-assess the office if anything changes Once again, it is a legal requirement to have a fire safety assessment carried out. However, it is sometimes the case that changes will be made within the office which affects this assessment, but the company does not conduct a follow-up assessment. There are many changes that could have an impact on fire safety. Something as simple as moving desks around, or changing up paths to the closest emergency exit. 4 – Train and re-train staff It is also important to provide staff training around fire safety – this is a vital part of preventing fires and minimising the risk of fires spreading. Staff understanding exactly what they need to do in the event of a fire can make a huge difference. It should also be noted that businesses shouldn’t make the mistake of training their staff once and feeling that they have done enough. Good training should be repeated and updated. 5 – Think about potential sources of ignition or fuel It is also important to consider what there is in the office that could be a source of ignition or fuel for a fire. Large amounts of paper, for example, is a major potential fire hazard, and if you are still using a lot of paper files, switching to a paperless digital system could have the advantage of boosting your fire safety. Applications Engineering provides a wide range of fire sprinkler valve systems, which are an important part of any fire sprinkler system. If you would to like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with the team at Applications Engineering today.

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