Protect Your Business From Fire Damage
3/27/2019 (Permalink)
Business owners have plenty of safety factors to take into consideration regarding risks to their business, staff and visitors. Fires are one of those risks to your business that you need to spend a little extra time planning for and preventing.
Leading Causes of Commercial Fires
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that the leading causes of structure fires in office properties from 2007–2011 were (in order):
- Cooking equipment, 29% of fires
- Electrical distribution and lighting equipment, 12% of fires
- Heating equipment, 11% of fires
- Intentional, 10% of fires
- Smoking materials, 9% of fires
- Exposure, 4% of fires
- Electronic, office or entertainment equipment, 3% of fires
Of those causes, intentional, exposure, and electrical distribution and lighting equipment were the cause of the most property damage with 20%, 18% and 15% respectively.
Ways to Protect Your Business
There are many steps you can take to protect your business from the risk of fires. By focusing on fire risk assessment, fire prevention and staff education, you can work toward reducing the chance of a fire breaking out.
- Assess your risk of fire hazards. There are some local governments that may offer a visit from a fire marshal to help you identify these risks and provide guidance on creating your fire prevention plan.
- Have the right fire protection equipment in place, which would include an automatic sprinkler system, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers on each floor.
- Create a fire plan and review it with your staff on a regular basis to ensure everyone knows what to do in the event of fire.
- Conduct fire drills at least once a year to keep the fire safety protocol fresh.
- Take time to review evacuation plans and where the first-aid kits are.
Despite best efforts with fire prevention and safety tips, the worst could always happen at your business. If a fire has damaged your business, SERVPRO® of Greater Northern Charleston is available to help make it "Like it never even happened." Here for you 24/7 ~ 843.552.1226