Published on June 9th, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

Seven steps to improve fire safety in your business

The Grenfell Tower tragedy has had the effect of making the government, governing bodies, and building owners take fire safety much more seriously. Thankfully, there are signs that changes are being made with reviews into sprinkler safety and more – but many organisations and businesses are keen to be making their own changes in order to keep everyone safe.

If you are interested in improving the fire safety precautions in your business there are actually many things that you can do. Here we take a look at seven steps that your business can follow to improve overall fire safety.

Step One: Conduct a fire risk assessment

Conducting a fire risk assessment is a legal necessity, but it may also be in your interest to update yours on a regular basis. Doing so can help you to identify potential issues on your business premises and ensure that you mitigate the risk of a fire to keep staff, visitors, and members of the public safe at all times.

During a fire risk assessment, you should identify potential fire hazards as well as people who may be at risk. You should then evaluate these risks, removing or reducing them as is necessary and possible. Finally, you should create an emergency plan for what to do in the event of a fire.

Step Two: Have high quality fire alarms installed

It is next important to make sure that you have high quality fire detection and alarm systems in place throughout your property. The type of system that is suitable for you will depend on the building itself, as well as your legal requirements based on the needs of the premises.

Modern systems work generally on the same principle – when they detect a large amount of smoke or heat, they will sound an alarm to warn those in the building of a fire. You also need to ensure that there are manual break points so that anyone can set off the alarm if they discover it; it’s always best to be able to act as fast as possible when it comes to fire.

Step Three: Ensure your fire extinguishers are in good working order

It is important to make sure that you are doing everything legal in terms of your fire extinguishers. This means having the correct type of fire extinguisher depending on the needs set out in your fire risk assessment.

It also means ensuring that your extinguishers are in good working order and have been serviced on a regular basis.

Step Four: Provide your staff with training

It is also essential that your staff are provided with a high level of training in all things concerning fire safety. They need to know not only the escape routes and the fire assembly points, but also we aware of what they need to do in order to reduce the risk of a fire in the workplace.

Staff should understand what they need to do in the event of them discovering a fire. This might seem basic, but it is essential information. Give them cpr training as well. Other than this, you can also look into other types of emergency response training by reaching out to Mississauga First Aid Traning Facilities.

Step Five: Clearly mark escape routes

As discussed above, it is absolutely essential that staff know where escape routes are. However, it is important to remember that it is not only staff who might be at your premises. Customers, visitors, contractors, or suppliers may be on your site at any time, and should a fire breakout it is essential that fire exits and escape routes are clearly signed.

Step Six: Conduct regular fire drills

It is all well and good understand what to in principal if a fire breaks out, but if the real thing occurs you need to know that everyone on your premises understands how they are expected to act. This is why it is so important to conduct regular fire drills. You should carry out at least one fire drill per year.

Step Seven: Display signs

It is also especially important to display fire safety signs. These signs can provide crucial information and also act as a useful reminder to everyone in your team as to what they need to do in the event of a fire.

The type of signs that you need will depend on the usage of the building, and these should be examined during a fire assessment.

Tags: fire safety, improve, steps

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.