Do you really think a fire extinguisher cylinder is enough to protect your workplace?
Okay, let’s assume it is, but when did you or your safety person last check for the proper working of it or a fire alarm and how?
Okay again, suppose you did! But don’t you think at the end of the day, you would face loss. At least to some extent? Well, that’s why we precede fire prevention over fire protection.
A fire prevention system not only protects you & your workers but even that some extent of loss that can come off.
For more conviction check out, you should see these estimates on fire incidents at the workplace in the UK. According to a report, “In 2016 to 2017 a fire & rescue service attended 15,815 cases on non-domestic buildings.”
So what is turning wrong? Let’s know in elaboration.
What is fire prevention?
Fire prevention is not always those mock drills of schools and offices but can be the precautions you take to ignore fire hazards. Fire prevention includes fire exits, fire monitoring systems, fire marshals, fire equipment checking, fire alarms, etc.
Fire prevention tips for the workplace-
- Turn off all electronics appliances after leaving workplaces- Most of the time fire hazard takes place in shut offices or sites. And the most common reason is careless behaviour & open systems behind, that can overheat easily.
- Report if any electrical faults- Don’t ignore or delay any electrical faults, make sure you look out for any serious or minor fault and fix it ASAP.
- Don’t overload premises circuits- There is a recommended capacity for every circuit, but when you load it over can heat easily & turn in a huge fire hazard.
- Free up the area if any clutter- Make sure all easy fire catching staff such as office clutter (paper waste & trans) is not present in the office. Because of any unfortunate circumstances, it can vastly boost fire.
- Be aware of flammable chemicals- If there is any flammable chemical present, make sure it’s under safety. Other than that, keep all such combinations in separate places that can be flammable together.
- Smoke rooms for smoking, if permitted- If smoking is permitted on-premises, ensure you do it in the smoke room and extinguish smoking material fully.
- Regular machine maintenance- Assure your office machine gets a time-to-time check-up. These regular checks prevent any machine malfunctioning and further fire incidents.
- Easy access for electrical control panels- Affirm nothing is directly stored in the front of electrical control panels and shut it down in times of emergency.
What is a fire prevention system?
A fire prevention system is a range of multiple components that work to prevent or detect fire. Besides, they can recognise the system, which includes the detention of fire to the process to ensure the fire does not occur.
They can be a premises design that shows how well-planned two spaces are, for example, a kitchen area or file storage. Furthermore, they can be any other systems, including:
- Premises space design
- Fire detection system
- Fire extinguishing system
- Fire inspection system
- Fire suppression system
- Fire monitoring system
Why should fire protection be followed by fire prevention?
The first thing we must have read in this article is how prevention can save your places from even small amounts of harm. Yes, we agree that fire protections are equally important but who want to miss the opportunity to save each & everything.
You can understand the serious matter by some effectual points, including:
- Loss of life from both sides (rescuer & person in danger) can be saved with preventions
- Fire prevention can save financial loss that can occur in the future
- From inspection to testing, if you have a fire prevention system, you can ensure safety
- Fire prevention products such as a fire monitoring system can help you identify the weak areas
Fire prevention equipment & ways for fire safety –
- Fire alert system- Every workplace must have a robust emergency smoke alarm that can alert you at the initial stage and save lives & further harms.
Make sure you regularly check for the operability of the system, so they don’t betray at the time of need.
- Fire extinguisher- The picture of a fire extinguisher defines the sign of fire safety. On that note, you can understand the importance of this fire protection equipment that vastly useful on-premises.
Also, check for the availability of the tool, so you or the fire warden can steadily make action.
- Safety guard- Yes, a well-trained safety guard can work as a fire safety person with the right fire safety equipment. They control all those moves that should be restricted to dangerous or sensitive areas.
- Escape route- The lifesaving route is a living hero that should be clear from any type of obstacle. Also, all employees should be familiar with the route, so at the time of emergency, they know where to go.
- Fire monitoring system- Fire safety equipment, warden, and route all need proper monitoring so they could work properly. In such a case, a monitoring system is the best thing that should have in a fire safety collection.
- Fire patrol reporting system- You might have a fire safety person on office premises. But do they work properly? What if they fall asleep or miss something that needs to be monitored? In this, a fire patrol reporting system can help.
- Fire equipment checker- Just a fire warden, if your safety equipment is not working properly? In such a way, if you have an equipment checker in your offices you can ensure safety full & sound.
Over to you!
After this full-blown fire safety & prevention on-paper drill, it’s up to you whether you want to invest or not. Fire safety is a topic discussion where distinct views are present, as, for some, it’s just a matter of carelessness. And some belief in it occurs even after safety.
However, you can overseer the careless nature of your safety person or malfunctioning of devices just by including fire prevention devices in your fire safety kit.
The choice is all yours!