Fire Safety In The Workplace

0Safety in the workplace should always be a high priority for all business to ensure a safe working environment for all their staff. Cutting corners to save money tells your staff that their well-being is not being thought of. This could disastrously results in the event of a fire.  Here are some tips to implement fire safety in the workplace. 

• Appoint and train a fire safety officer. If your business is small with less than 20 employees, you still need a minimum of one person who is fire safety trained. This person should someone who can be trusted and on the premises for most of your business’ working hours. There are lots of companies in the fire safety industry who offer training for fire safety officers, covering everything from safe evacuations or proper FRC.
• Educate all employees. After training someone as a fire safety officer, give your new officer time with all of your employees to educate them about the right procedures that should be followed if a fire breaks out. Your staff should all be trained on how to spot potential fire hazards and who they should report those hazards to.
• Have all required safety equipment in place. This should include signs for fire safety such as where the exits are located as well as where fire extinguishers and other points of safety are to be found. Fire alarms must be fitted throughout your workplace, and ought to be tested by the fire safety officer on a regular basis. Fit fire doors through the building to prevent a fire from being able to spread. Be aware though that fire doors can cause ventilation issues, and there can be a risk of catching fingers in them if they close automatically. To avoid this, fit fire doors that can be left open, but automatically shut if the fire alarm goes off. Make sure you also have fire extinguishers throughout the building and have a range to tackle different types of fire. Consult a professional to make sure you have the right ones. You will also need to think about how to safely and correctly store and transport flammable objects and materials, such as gas cylinders. You can easily click here to see Australia’s premier range of gas bottle trolleys that can help to make the workplace safer.
• Carry out regular checks. Your fire safety officer should check all your fire-related safety equipment on a regular basis, preferably weekly. This should include fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and fire doors. When these checks are carried out, any potential hazards should be noted, raised, and corrected immediately. 
• Display safety signage throughout your business premises. Throughout your office or workplace, you should display signage that relates to fire safety and procedures in the event of a fire. Fire extinguishers should have clear signs near them with clear instructions on how to use them if a fire does break out. Fire exits out of the building must be clearly marked with fire exit signs which glow in the dark. Any fire doors that are not set up to close when the fire alarm sounds should have signs on that say, ‘Fire door: keep shut’. Mark assembly points clearly. Make sure any fire alarms that can be triggered by an individual are clearly marked. You should also have one or more signs displayed in a prominent place which outlines the correct procedure to be followed in a fire. Put a map of the premises nearby which shows safety equipment and assembly points.