Office fires can happen at any time, even when proper safety measures are in place, despite being more likely in an unprepared workplace. When an office fire starts, it has the potential to harm your staff, company documents, equipment and premises, regardless of size. A small fire in the wrong place can be just as detrimental as an blaze that engulfs your premises. For example, a server room fire could wipe out all of your company data in a matter of seconds, and a small fire in the doorway of a building without proper provisions for emergency exits could leave your whole workforce stranded inside.

Having the right equipment and checks in place is vitally important when preparing for the worst, although knowing the most common causes of an office fire can just as useful, when it comes to prevention:

 

Cooking

A large proportion of offices now have cooking facilities to some degree, in the form of a few microwaves and a kettle, or even a stocked canteen with ovens, stoves and other flammable or heat-producing devices. It can be all too easy to leave something unattended, only to have it go horribly wrong, and lead to a fire that can spread quickly throughout your premises.

 

How to minimise the risk:

  • Try not to leave food unattended while cooking or heating

  • Install fire blankets and Fire extinguishers in your kitchen

  • Install and regularly test your fire alarm

 

Heating

When talking about heating, we’re not necessarily referring to your main office heating system, but more of small mini heaters that are used without due care and attention. Small desktop heaters or similar can be very easily left near flammable or vulnerable objects, that can ignite over time.

 

How to minimise the risk:

  • Be careful when placing heatings, to ensure they aren’t near flammable objects

  • Set a reminder to turn them off before you leave the office, preferably at the plug

 

Electrical

Electrical fires are often the hardest to spot, due to their ignition almost always being based on them being faulty, which an average worker won’t be qualified to spot or fix. Damaged wires, overloaded plug sockets or faulty equipment are all hazards that can lead to sparking a fire or electrocuting untrained workers – both are bad for your company.

It may sound obvious when hearing that heavily overloaded plugs or frayed wires are a fire hazard, but it happens all too often, both in the workplace and at home.

 

How to minimise the risk:

  • Conduct a basic visual check of your wiring, to ensure that plugs aren’t overloaded, and wires aren’t in notable poor condition

  • Being in an expert to PAT test your fixed wire and electrical devices to ensure they’re in good health, and fix any faults.

 

Smoking

Smoking is not only bad for your health, but potentially detrimental to to your business, when viewed as a fire hazard. Even well stubbed cigarettes can still easily catch fire when the condition are right; those being dry weather, a slight breeze and flammable surroundings.

Even having a cigarette disposal unit in your smoking area can easily catch fire, if a negligent worker puts a lit cigarette in it; much like tossing a match into kindling. More than a third of fire deaths in non-domestic buildings were caused by smokers’ materials or cigarette lighters – gov.uk

 

How to minimise the risk:

  • Put up signs encouraging employees to thoroughly stub out their cigarettes

  • Put out a bucket of sand or water to aid them in properly distinguishing them

  • Regularly check and empty your cigarette bins.

Talk to the experts

When it comes to fire safety, doing it all yourself is not only leaving you open to mistakes and accidents, but also setting you up for hefty fines, even if you’re fortunate enough to never have an office fire. We can help you with all things safety, from emergency lighting to extinguishers and PAT testing. Get in touch today to see how we can help you!

 




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