Despite the annually decreasing number of people who die in fire accidents, fire safety is still a major concern at workplaces. Having a strong fire safety plan is critical–it protects you, your team, and your business.
After all, many fire incidents still happen in office, commercial, and industrial buildings, with potential injuries and deaths as well as property damage. A fire safety plan reduces these risks, from addressing everyday hazards to preparing for emergencies with evacuation plans.
This guide explores essential fire safety practices and actionable tips so you can build a safer environment and meet the demands of inspections.
How does fire safety work?
Fire safety is a critical responsibility for business owners and property managers, especially in high-risk environments. An effective fire safety plan includes:
- Compliance with local fire codes – Local fire departments and safety agencies often set specific regulations, with requirements for fire extinguishers, alarm systems, emergency exits, and more.
- Regular risk assessments – There should be regular risk assessments to identify potential hazards and check if fire safety measures are working properly or need improvement.
- Ongoing training – Employees should receive regular safety training so they can prevent and respond to fire emergencies appropriately, with topics like evacuation procedures and emergency reporting.
By proactively managing fire safety, you can prevent deadly accidents. In fact, fire marshals typically conduct inspections at least every year to identify fire risks and ensure facilities follow safety standards. Failing to meet these requirements can lead to significant penalties—or in severe cases, the closure of your business.
Top fire safety hazards
These are some of the most common fire safety hazards that you should have a prevention plan for:
- Electrical hazards – Faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, and poorly maintained electrical equipment are leading causes of workplace fires.
- Improper storage of flammable materials – These include gasoline, apint thinners, solvents, and compressed gas cylinders, which can burn if stored near heat sources or without being properly contained.
- Blocked or inaccessible exits – In the case of an emergency, escaping would be harder, increasing the severity of the consequences.
- Human error – Another common cause of fires is negligence, such as leaving heat-producing equipment unattended or mishandling flammable materials.
- Defective fire safety equipment – Fire alarms, extinguishers, and sprinklers shouldn’t fail right when they’re needed most, which is why there should be regular inspections and maintenance.
- Smoking and open flames – Careless smoking practices or misusing open flames, such as with candles or welding equipment, can easily ignite fires.
Depending on your industry, some of these hazards will be more likely than others. For example, in manufacturing, proper storage and handling of flammable chemicals is critical, while for restaurants, cooking equipment like stoves and ovens require carful attention.
Requirements for basic fire safety
To protect against these hazards and comply with basic laws, your fire safety plan should at least cover the following:
Installation of a fire suppression system
All buildings require fire suppression systems to pass fire safety requirements. These are multi-component, multi-layered systems that help contain the fire. A sprinkler system, smoke baffles, and smoke curtains are just a few examples.
Regular maintenance of fire systems
Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and sprinklers are crucial components of a fire system. These should be in working condition.
Make sure that you keep the necessary documents related to fire system maintenance. During a visit, fire inspectors will likely ask for these.
Sufficient safety signage
Safety signage and markings help build occupants and firefighters know where to go and what to do in case of a fire. Check with your local fire department about this requirement. Specifications often differ from one municipality to another.
Your building should have ceiling fixtures that properly illuminate emergency exit signs. Ensure easy access to fire extinguishers and fire protection equipment. And don’t forget to install signage that indicates the location of your electrical control panels and fire protection rooms.
Accessible emergency exits
Make sure nothing blocks your emergency exits, hallways, stairwells, and doorways. Remember that exit doors must lock only from outside. Your fire escapes must be in working condition. Clear away any blockages.
Heavy doors or doors that are difficult to operate might become the reason you fail the fire inspection. Accessibility is crucial in areas where people may gather during an emergency. People should be able to exit your building quickly and safely.
Inspection and maintenance of electrical components
Make sure that you’ve also considered electrical hazards. Inspect your electrical outlets, switches, breakers, and circuit boards. The cover plates must be in place. Hire a certified electrician to inspect your building and perform maintenance repairs before the fire marshal arrives.
Lack of electrical outlets could also become an issue. Never attach one extension cord to another. Extension wires are not a permanent solution.
A fire marshal might show up unannounced and witness this offense. Improper use of extension cords can make you fail your annual fire inspection.
Proper storage and waste disposal
Keep hallways and stairways free. Don’t use these areas for storing janitorial carts.
The same is true about riser rooms. Never treat them like a storage closet for mops, brooms, and other items. It might seem trivial to you but storing stuff in the riser room is a common mistake that leads to costly fire code violations.
If your business entails handling hazardous materials, ensure that you have the proper storage. Keep a copy of the required permits ready during fire inspections.
Keeping the surrounding area clean
Keep vegetation at least 30 feet away from your property. Remove debris, dead plants, and trees right away to protect your building.
Weeds and other ground covers must also not go higher than six inches. If you must have trees in an area at risk for wildfires, consider Brazilian and California pepper.
Best practices for fire protection
An effective fire protection plan is the sum of a multitude of planned processes:
Each element contributes to the minimization of fire risks and helps fire safety officers to develop fire safety inspection procedures and strategies for the fire safety plan. Here are four best practices for fire safety:
Preventive measures
Prevention begins with the training of employees. They should be fully informed about emergency procedures and the operation of fire protection equipment. Conduct regular training sessions with hands-on drills so employees understand emergency protocols, such as using fire extinguishers and being able to evacuate quickly.
There should also be clear workplace policies for handling flammable materials, electrical equipment, and smoking areas. You can put up fire safety posters and signs around and send reminders about fire safety best practices. To build stronger protective measures, feel free to download any of these fire safety and fire inspection checklist templates as well.
Threat assessment
An examination of the fire risk is also an elementary component of hazard minimization. Assess fire risks in your building one by one, including potential ignition sources, flammable materials, and vulnerable areas.
You can implement this with the help of fire protection and risk assessment checklists, which you can also easily compile into reports. You’ll be able to document your findings then implement improvements in an organized way.
In case of fire
A series of inspections of active fire protection equipment (AFP), such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and smoke detectors, ensure safe operation in case of fire. Conduct routine checks to confirm they are in working condition and ready if an emergency happens.
The fire-fighting and fire protection system should be carefully designed. For example, pair fire alarms with automatic sprinkler systems for more security. Don’t forget to keep detailed records of all inspections and repairs for future audits.
Emergency evacuation plan
Safe evacuation and a planned, well-structured procedure are of major importance in fire protection procedures. The emergency evacuation plan includes important contact details of the safety authorities, the map of all emergency exits and other protocols relevant to the fire.
Special attention should also be paid to people with disabilities. They should have appropriate evacuation measures in place and be fully informed about the procedure.
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A digital solution for fire safety and risk assessment processes
With a digital fire safety checklist, you can easily carry out regular inspections and routine checks via tablet or smartphone – online or offline. Using the desktop version, you can create an individual fire safety risk assessment as a template and then evaluate the data collected. Or you could use one of our existing fire safety templates.
With the mobile app, you can carry out regular inspections and routine checks easily via tablet or smartphone – online or offline.
With Lumiform’s mobile app, you can easily perform quality and safety checks, report problems in an instant and quickly assign corrective actions to responsible colleagues. Internal fire safety processes are easier to improve and incidents can be resolved up to four times faster.
Digitise checklists and internal processes with Lumiform:
- The AI checklist builder from Lumiform helps you to convert any individual paper list into a digital checklist without much effort.
- In addition, we offer more than 12,000 ready-made templates to help companies get started digitally in no time.
- Using the super intuitive mobile App, you and your teammates conduct check in the field with ease and in no time.
- All results, images and comments are automatically bundled in a digital report.