Whichever industry you are involved in, there are certain workplace hazards that pose a risk and could potentially lead to a fire. For example, if you work in a warehouse or an industrial setting, defective electrical fittings, sources of friction and heat and heavy machinery can be a hazardous and potentially result in a fire. As an employer, it is important to ensure that you have a fire safety plan put into place and that you follow the regulations to reduce the damage and ensure the safety of your employees.
Have a safety plan in place:
In line with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005, it is required for a Responsible Person (RP) from outside sources to come in and conduct a fire risk assessment, thus highlighting and eliminating and potential fire risks. These must be regular and well-documented instances, and it’s imperative that you fully coordinate and change your policy to meet any requirements or alterations that are highlighted. This includes having a fire safety route set in place, which must be apparent to all employees and ingrained into your training plan, it also involves any specific building fixtures, such as fire dampers, fire extinguishers, a clear fire exit and smoke alarms.
Having a fire action plan is imperative for any company, which must be prioritised in order of the severity of any potential fires that may occur. This action taken is common sense, and will depend on the severity and likelihood of a fire occurring. Because of the detrimental nature of a fire, it is important to revise, conduct and monitor fire safety precautions on a regular basis, in order to highlight any potential problems and to keep your employees well informed and alert.
What are fire dampers?
Fire dampers play an extremely important role in the event of a fire. They essentially prevent the spread of fire through installed ductwork. Which can be a particularly useful feature in an industrial setting. This feature is installed at what is called the “fusible link“ in the ventilation ductwork, it can withstand extreme temperatures and when met with fire, the edges will melt and fuse shut, thus preventing a spread throughout the remaining ductwork.
It is important to liaise with your local government, fire safety officials and local fire station in order to ensure that your fire safety policy is up to date and that you have the correct features and processes put in place to reduce and prevent the outbreak of fire.