Proper fire safety should always be a priority for your company and your managers.
Not only does it help keep your workers safe, but it can also build your reputation for ensuring workplace safety – an attractive quality to both clients and employees.
And contrary to what many believe, establishing fire safety in the workplace isn’t that difficult. You just need to know what to do and what to implement.
Here are some of our top pointers:
- Understand your workplace’s fire safety plan / Emergency Management Plan
- Look at your company’s current fire safety plan and evaluate it thoroughly. Does it accurately reflect your current workplace? Are there parts of the plan you can improve? What are the risks that your plan is not addressing? We recommend working with a qualified fire safety adviser to update, review and improve your facility fire safety plan.
- Review your Evacuation Diagrams / Fire Maps
- Having a pre-planned escape route ensures occupants at your facility will know where to go in case of fire or an emergency requiring your facility to evacuate. You must also ensure that all egress routes and fire exits shown in your diagrams are accurate and easily understood. Evacuation diagrams must be conspicuously located along the evacuation routes, orientated correctly and shows your building prescribed Fire Safety Installation / Essential Fire Safety Measures. The evacuation diagrams must be reviewed annually to ensure they are current and accurate. We recommend working with a qualified fire safety adviser to review and update your facility evacuation diagrams.
- Appoint Fire Wardens
- A fire warden helps keep your workplace safe by maintaining and implementing the right fire safety measures. They will also lead workplace evacuations during emergencies and assist emergency response units to keep everyone in your team safe. We recommend keeping your fire warden’s knowledge up-to-date with regular fire warden training. The AS3745 and Queensland Building Fire Safety Regs required for Wardens to be trained at 12 monthly intervals
- Have Fire Extinguishers in the Right Places
- You should have fire extinguishers strategically placed in different parts of your facility. This allows your employees to confine small fires immediately and avoid further damage. Don’t forget to regularly check the condition of your fire extinguishers and their expiry dates. All fire extinguishers installed at your facility needs to be service to AS1851 at 6 and 12 monthly intervals by a licensed person
- Check Electronics Regularly
- Check your workplace’s power cords regularly for exposed wires. You should also avoid overloading plug sockets and extension cables. Having a technician come in at least once a year to check the condition and functionality of your smoke alarms and electronics will go a long way in keeping your workplace safe.
- Declutter and Properly Dispose of Waste.
- A cluttered office filled with paper and other flammable materials can be a fire accident waiting to happen. Keep your paper waste to a minimum, and make sure that all rubbish is properly disposed of at least weekly, if not at the end of the day. A clean workplace is a safe workplace.
Workplace Fire Safety 101: How to Prevent Fires in Your Workplace
Stay Vigilant
Keeping a safe workplace is all about implementing the right safety measures and making sure that your staff know what to do when a fire or emergency occurs. We also recommend educating your employees regularly on the best practices and the latest guidelines for fire and workplace safety.
At Australian Fire Protection, we offer top-of-the-line training that can equip your employees with the right knowledge to manage and respond to workplace emergencies. Contact us today to learn how we can help you keep your workplace safer.
