Why Is Fire Safety in Workplace Vitally Important?

Commercial Fire Protection Is Important More Than You Think

Fire Safety in Workplace is Vitally Important

If you are a responsible person, you must take the essential steps to ensure your employees’ fire safety. You are the one who can prevent or minimize the occurrence of fire. In addition, you can reduce the risk for your employers.
But even if you fail to prevent a fire, if you have done everything and equipped the property with conventional protection accessories, you can control fire by not allowing it to grow. Only then would you have a huge chance to save yourself and others.

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If you are employer or a responsible person

Employers must constantly evaluate and update the fire safety risk assessment

Employers must constantly evaluate and update the fire safety risk assessment and keep a related record. The responsible people must identify the fire hazards and those at risk.

If there is a fire risk
If there is a fire risk, they must take the necessary and appropriate action and provide the essential fire safety measures to minimize the risk of injuring and protecting people’s lives.
To avoid suffering later, you must provide appropriate equipment for fire safety and firefighting tools, install them properly, and train your employees on how to work with them.
And also, you should regularly do maintenance and tests to ensure your fire equipment (fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire fighting tools, etc.) is working correctly.

You must have an emergency evacuation plan.  
In addition, you must have an emergency evacuation plan and ensure your workers receive proper training for procedures they must follow during a fire emergency. You must keep fire exits and escape routes clear, marked, and unobstructed, ensuring they suit people’s mobility needs. And finally, you have to ensure people can evacuate the building safely.

You can go to prison for two years

If you are an employer or a responsible person, you will be the one who will be judged if a fire occurs on your premises. In addition, you will be the one who could be fined or even go to prison if something harmful happens to anyone located in your premises during this unfortunate disaster.
If you are an employer, owner, landlord, occupier or someone who has control under British law, you are responsible for others. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make the environment fireproof for others. You are the person who must protect the lives of your employees, making their work and living environment safe.

If you do not comply with the fire rules related to commercial fire protection, you can go to prison for two years. This is the most significant penalty you can receive from the British government if you do not make your work environment fire safe for your employees.

If your fire safety measures are not adequate
If a fire and rescue authority visits your establishment and finds that “your fire safety measures are not adequate”, first you could receive a formal or informal notice from them. They will also give you instructions about fire safety rules and what you must do to be fire protected.
If your building has a high safety risk, you could receive an Alterations Notice. In this report, you will receive instructions on what to do to make the place fire safe.
If your property has a critical fire risk and is not controlling it, you probably could receive an Enforcement Notice with guidance to improve your fire protection by a specific date. And finally, if the risk is exceptional, the fire and rescue authority may decide immediately to forbid or restrict access to your premises.

The minor and the most significant penalties
The most significant penalty you can receive for not following the rules for fire safety is up to two years in prison. In addition, depending on the situation, you can be taxed with a minor penalty of up to £5,000.

Dangerous origins that can cause a fire in the workplace

To start a fire, you need a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. If one of these is missing, it is impossible to produce a flame.

1

Sources of ignition

Any electric heater, faulty electrical outlet or other malfunctioning electrical equipment can cause ignition. Likewise, faulty cables, heated surfaces, lighting, open flame, cooking stoves, cigarettes, matches, lighters and anything else that can cause a spark are ignition sources. Therefore, we must be cautious when using the above-listed electrical equipment and ensure they are in working order and used correctly. In addition, we must constantly check for defective items that could cause a spark.

2

sources of fuel

Among the most dangerous sources of fuel that can cause a fire in the workplace are office materials such as paper, boxes, cardboard, wood, etc., as well as plastic and decorations, which are among the most dangerous sources of fuel that can cause a fire in a workplace.
We must also be cautious with waste materials, sawdust and shavings, clouds of dust and powdered products.
They must strictly follow the laws related to fire protection and be cautious all the time. Other dangerous fuel sources include rubber, foam, upholstered furniture, and textiles.
Workplaces that store substances such as flammable liquids and combustive gases are among the places at significant risk of fire.

3

Sources of oxygen

The source of oxygen is the air itself. Airflow can come through windows, doors, openings and air conditioning systems. One of the things we have to do in case of fire is to stop the airflow. For example, if open doors exist, windows or openings, immediately close them and block the ventilation. We may not be able to extinguish the fire, but we can reduce the rate of its spread. Thus we can reduce the damage from the flames.

Of course, these are not all dangerous fire origins, but these are the most noticeable ones. There are a bunch of others that we don’t even imagine. In principle, we cannot eliminate all sources of fire, but by identifying the noticeable ones, we can reduce the fire risk.

Useful Information

Tips on how to reduce
a fire risk

Taking the necessary measures to reduce the risk of fire in the workplace is essential. Here are some tips that may be helpful:

  • Store waste material in appropriate containers
    make sure all appliances are turned off, and combustible debris is removed before leaving the workplace
  • Provide adequate storage facilities for materials. Be especially careful if you are storing flammable materials.
  • Ensure that the goods do not prevent the firefighting equipment from working effectively
  • Make sure large quantities of paper are kept away from sources of ignition
  • Be careful not to have combustible materials near electrical equipment or heaters, even when they are turned off
  • Do not smoke near places where flammable materials are stored
  • Maintain all machinery, apparatus and office equipment in good working order by using the services of competent persons. If necessary, put signs and instructions on how to use them safely.
  • Always check that they are in working order.
  • As electrical equipment is one of the riskiest and can cause fires in shops and offices, it must be installed and maintained safely by a competent person.
  • Check electrical installations regularly for irregularities.
 

Highly flammable liquids

Highly flammable liquids such as methylated spirits pose an exceptionally high fire risk. If leaked, such substances can produce large quantities of flammable vapours heavier than air. Since, in such cases, they usually travel long distances, the risk of reaching an ignition source is very high. Therefore, such substances must be stored carefully and under constant supervision. In addition, there must be no potential ignition sources, and the electrical equipment used in these areas must be suitable for places with explosive atmospheres.

Storing fireworks has unique requirements

Warehouses and stores for storing fireworks have special requirements for storage, as they can easily cause fires and explosions. If they become defective in any way, they can suddenly release pressure and heat and catch fire, which can be very dangerous.


Among the unique requirements for storing fireworks are the following:

  • Store them in suitable containers
  • Keep them dry to prevent them from becoming defective
  • Hold them away from objects that can spread fire
  • They must not be stored under any circumstances, fireworks near an escape route, etc.

Some insulation materials are highly flammable

In many buildings, insulation materials are used as the external cladding or for internal structures. Some of these materials are highly flammable, causing flames to spread quickly. For example, the fire’s rapid spread, which claimed more than 70 people’s lives, was the highly flammable insulation material used in the building. Therefore, it is vital not to install heating devices and highly flammable materials against these panels, and ignition sources must be under constant supervision.

Before commencing any repairs

As construction involves using tools such as flame cutting, soldering, temporary electrical equipment etc., you must review the fire risk assessment before commencing any repairs or alterations to your building. Continuous monitoring of the impact of construction works is also essential.

What Do You Need to Prevent Potential Fire?

Employers must constantly evaluate and update the fire safety risk assessment and keep a record related to it. The responsible people have to identify the fire hazards and also the people who are at risk.
If there is a fire risk, they must take the necessary and appropriate action and provide the essential fire safety measures to minimize the risk of injuring and protect people’s lives.
To avoid suffering later, you must provide appropriate equipment for fire safety and firefighting tools, install them properly, and train your employees on how to work with them.
And also, you should regularly do maintenance and tests to ensure your fire equipment (fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire fighting tools, etc.) are working correctly.
In addition, you must have an emergency evacuation plan and ensure your workers receive proper training for procedures they must follow during a fire emergency. You must keep fire exits and escape routes clear, marked, and unobstructed, ensuring that they are suitable for people with mobility needs. And finally, you have to be sure that people can evacuate the building safely.