Dianne Pajo
If you manage an office space or building as a part of your business, you should know how to keep your space and employees safe from fire emergencies. While fire emergencies are rare, they can happen anywhere, which is why it’s so important to prepare for them. If you’re looking for more ways to keep your business safe, read on for some strategies to reduce fire risks in your office building.
Schedule Regular Fire Protection Maintenance
Every office building should have the appropriate fire protection equipment, such as sprinklers, alarm systems, fire extinguishers, and more. This equipment may work fine at the time of installation, but it will age just like any other equipment around your office. This is why it’s important to test your safety features regularly and schedule the necessary maintenance. For example, you should test fire alarms and change their batteries regularly to be ready for emergencies. You should also hire a professional to test sprinklers and other safety installations.
Use Electrical Equipment Responsibly
Office buildings use a wide variety of electrical appliances, equipment, and accessories to operate and stay organized. For example, the standard office cubicle may contain several computer monitors, chargers, a computer tower, a printer, a paper shredder, and more. All these appliances need connections to electrical outlets to stay powered, which can lead to electrical overloads if you’re not careful. Always practice safe electrical wiring techniques by using surge-protected power strips. Never overload or daisy chain your power strips or extension cords, as you could heighten fire risks.
Reinforce Your Structure With Fire-Resistant Paint
If you’re currently planning your office building or completing renovations, you may want to consider adding fire-resistant (intumescent) paint to your building’s structural materials. Applying these is among the ways architects can make buildings more flame resistant. Builders and professional painters can apply intumescent paints to both the interior and exterior of your office building. Exterior paint can provide additional peace of mind if your building is in a wildfire-prone area.
Prevent Office Clutter
Clutter around your office building can pose several fire risks if you’re not careful. If a small fire starts in your building, the flames can quickly spread to clutter, such as boxes or packaging lying around. You should especially keep clutter from piling up near your building’s entrances and fire exits to avoid causing backups during a fire evacuation.
Now that you know these top ways to reduce fire risks in your office building, you can optimize your building with fire protection in mind. Following these tips can help promote safety in your building and help you prepare in case of accidents and fire emergencies.
