Each year, fires have debilitating impacts on thousands of businesses resulting in injury, death, damage to buildings and bad PR. Implementing preventive and preparedness systems and partnering with a fire alarm and life safety solutions company that can help you ensure your facility is up-to-date, tested, and inspected now will help you avoid injuries to your employees, loss of critical assets, and potential fines to your business in the future. Here are the necessary steps to prepare your facility for a fire emergency.
Implement a Fire Prevention Plan
Knowledge sharing is one of the key tenets to any fire prevention plan. It is important that facilities and their employees are provided with documentation highlighting personnel responsible for identifying combustible materials, fire hazards, and heat-producing machinery and equipment. This documentation should also underscore the procedures necessary to prevent potential emergencies, be shared with all employees, and be available in writing for review or updates, at any time.
Establish a Reactive Evacuation Plan
Be proactive instead of reactive. Emergencies are easier to respond to when everyone understands their responsibilities and the immediate procedures to follow afterwards. Implement an easily digestible plan that directs your staff on how to respond, when to respond and more importantly, where the available exit options are located in your facility. If certain members require special needs or attention, address them in the plan with detailed solutions that illustrate clearly all possible scenarios.
Form an Internal Task Force
Designate and train a core group of individuals who can take the lead in case of a fire emergency and will plan procedures. These individuals should also be willing to enforce fire safety and prevention protocols throughout the building and assist others during a fire emergency and help guide people to safety. Every year, the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) require fire extinguisher training for its employees. Members of this task force should receive the required training and be briefed on new or updated regulations.
Practice Proper Facility Maintenance
Common sense actions are more often said than done when it comes to fire safety procedures. Performing basic common sense practices such as daily housekeeping is key to keeping facilities clear of fire hazards. Other important items on your checklist should include: making sure flammable trash and packing materials are in metal containers with secure lids, cleaning and disposing of flammable materials immediately – including chemical spills and oil – to reduce the risk of fire, placing extra storage and equipment in proper storage areas clear of aisles or fire exits, not interfering with automatic sprinkler systems, ensuring all emergency exits stay illuminated at all times, and regularly testing emergency backup power and exit lights to confirm they are functioning.
Adhering to these basic guidelines will ensure your people and facility will be prepared to react properly and safely in case of a fire emergency.
Ensure You Have the Right Fire & Life Safety System
Enlisting a licensed and certified fire and life safety protection company can provide businesses with comprehensive inspections, tests, and installation of the latest and greatest in fire alarm systems – helping you remain code compliant.
Contact us today to learn more about how Alarm-Tech can partner with you to ensure your fire alarm & life safety and security needs are met. We are a locally-owned and operated company that has specialized in design-build, installation, testing and inspections of fire & life safety and security systems for over 20 years.
