Fire Safety: 10 Simple Ways You Can Be Proactive

The importance of fire safety cannot be denied. It’s essential that all businesses and organisations effectively manage fire safety in any premises they own, lease or operate. Being proactive with fire safety does not have to be an onerous task. With the proper planning and preparation, everyone can reduce the chances of a fire breaking out or at the very least ensure that if the worst were to happen and there is a fire- everyone can make it out safely in good time and good order. In all cases, a fire risk assessment is one of the most important things to be carried out when it comes to fire safety.

where should you focus WHEN BEING PROACTIVE WITH FIRE SAFETY?

Below you’ll find our 10 simple ways that you can be proactive with fire safety. These are the key problems we see in organisations alongside our top tips for combatting them and keeping your teams safe.

1. Faulty electrical equipment

Certain things cause more fires in the workplace than others. We know that heat is needed to start a fire, and without a doubt the most common cause of adverse heat generation in most workplaces is electrical. Electrical fires can be caused by overloading circuits, short circuits, damaged wiring, faulty appliances, or electrical equipment left running for extended periods. You can reduce the risk by:

• Ensure your electrical installation is inspected at the required intervals.
• Check electrical equipment to ensure it is in good condition.
• Avoid overloading power sockets.
• Avoid the use of extensions where possible.
• Do not join extension cables together (daisy chaining).

2. Staff Kitchens

Do you have a staff kitchen with some budding master chefs? Can that toaster be the bane of the facility managers’ lives? Staff kitchens can be a common place for workplace fires to start. So, we would recommend that you minimise the risk by utilising lower-risk equipment and set clear kitchen rules for the team using the kitchen as well- never just assume that something is common knowledge when it comes to fire safety. For example- a good rule to put in place would be to never leave cooking food unattended yes, even toast.

3. Heating Systems

Gas heating systems must undergo yearly maintenance and servicing by a qualified gas safety engineer. The use of portable heaters should be avoided as far as possible, particularly older radiant bar heaters and LPG heaters. If you do use portable heaters:

• Follow the manufacturer’s guidance on their safe use.
• Only use heaters fitted with automatic cut-off switches.
• Do not place heaters close to combustible materials or place them on exit routes.
• Switched off when the premises are unoccupied.

4. Smoking areas

Even with the increase of e-cigarettes and vapes, there are still people who smoke regular cigarettes. To reduce the risk of fire from smoking you can:

• Create and implement a no smoking policy- it’s not enough to just have a policy it needs to be enforced and adhered to.
• Affix no smoking signage throughout the building especially in key areas.
• Allocate smokers in a designated area for smoking away from your building.
• Have a suitable receptacle to extinguish and dispose of cigarettes.

5. fuels for fire

Excessive flammable materials around your building such as paper, wood and cardboard can quite literally add fuel to the fire and escalate even minor fire incidents. It’s often said that cleanliness is next to godliness, so we recommend that you keep on top of our housekeeping. Try:

• Storing items appropriately, away from potential ignition sources such as power points, equipment, machinery, or light fittings.
• Keep only what you need to operate as far as possible and look to reduce clutter and rubbish.

6. building fabric

Keeping on top of regular maintenance of your building and its premises will ensure that if a fire were to break out, its spread would be limited. What does regular maintenance look like?

• Repairing damaged walls, ceilings, floors, and roofs.
• Ensuring the integrity of fire-resisting barriers.
• Conducting weekly or monthly walks around the premises to report and repair any damage that is observed.
• Check fire doors are in good condition and close properly, if the doors are fitted with cold smoke brushes and intumescent strips make sure these are in good working condition as well.

7. fire alarms

You should have an effective means of detecting the alarm and ideally have a method of detecting a fire. Most often this will take the form of an automated detection system with interlinked detectors which when they sense smoke or heat will happily chirp away like there is no tomorrow and encourage you to leave the building in an orderly manner, these types of system will also have break glass call points connected to the system. If you have a detection system in place you will want to be assured that it will operate when needed so you should:

• Test your alarms weekly this may be by activating a call point.
• Ensure the system is serviced by a competent person every 6 months.
• Record the tests so you know they are being completed, and of course look to act if anything doesn’t work.

8. exit routes

Emergency lighting is there to illuminate exit routes when the normal artificial lighting fails and should be used to identify exit doors and exit routes, staircases, corridors and areas without natural lighting, basements for example. If you do have emergency lighting it is important you know it will illuminate when it is needed, so we recommend conducting a monthly function test of emergency lighting systems. These are usually conducted using a secure device key, called a fish key at designated points in the premises. If there are any faults of luminaires which are not working, ensure action is taken. Ensure an annual service of the system is carried out.

9. ensure signage

If, there is more than one escape route or if any route is not used regularly then some fire exit signage is likely to be needed, particularly if the routes to alternative exits are not obvious. A good rule of thumb is, to imagine you are not familiar with the premises and the alarm is raised, you should be able to see directional signs leading you to the nearest exit from wherever you are. There are many types of fire safety signage which may require in a premises though so if you’re not sure, get competent advice.

10. Fire Extinguishers

Should be used in a fire’s early stages to ensure the safety of people, and also help to protect the premises from damage. Fire extinguishers are simple to use and have instructions on how to use them written on the extinguisher, however, if in doubt no one should put themselves at risk, just raise the alarm and get out.

Water-based fire extinguishers deal with fires involving combustible materials whilst carbon dioxide extinguishers should be provided to deal with fires involving electrical equipment. As a minimum, these are the ones you should have. There are several more types of extinguishers for different fire types all depending on the types of fire risk within your premises, these will be specified by your competent fire engineer, fire risk assessor or product provider.

Top tips to make sure these tools are ready and waiting if and when they are needed (and not propping open a door somewhere) as part of your routine checks:

• Extinguishers are where they are meant to be, plinth or wall mounted obvious and unobstructed.
• Check to see if they have been serviced (annually).
• Ensure the security tag and pin are in place.
• Make sure the pressure is good (in the green/middle).
• There should be no leakage.

Extra steps you can take to ensure fire safety

Good planning and preparation can help to prevent poor performance. Fire procedures should be developed to ensure everyone is aware of the action they need to take in a fire. Don’t forget that you may have visitors and contractors visiting your premises. Fire action notices displayed in prominent areas will help spread the word, informing all of the actions to take in the event of a fire and the location of the assembly point.

Training is always a good idea. It’s essential to provide your team with fire safety training. Initially during their induction and at a minimum annually thereafter. Provide training on the basics of fire safety, such as:

• Fire hazards and their risks.
• The location of exits and escape routes and muster points.
• How to use a fire extinguisher, and what the different types of extinguishers are used on.
• How to call the fire service

Fire safety is imperative to keep your teams and your organisation safe. If you have any queries about fire risk assessments, fire safety or other Health & Safety related queries please do not hesitate to get in contact with Mark Girvan, or another member of our H&S team who would be happy to help, or your usual AAB People contact