5 Fire Safety Tips for Your Business

Did you know that an average of 15 people die and 150 are injured each year from hotel and motel fires? Those numbers don?t even include all of the restaurant, office, and retail facility fires that threaten the lives of American consumers every day.

To keep your property, your business, and your customers safe, consider the following essential tips.

Five Ways to Protect Your Business From Fires

1. Install a fire alarm
   
   Commercial fire alarm installation is undoubtedly a critical step in minimizing fire damage and helping your people evacuate quickly. Every building should be equipped with a good alarm system as a basic necessity.
2. Have a plan
   
   The purpose of a fire alarm is to alert everyone in the building of the threat so they can evacuate. However, the system is only effective if your people know how to get out quickly. Unfortunately, too many businesses fail to establish an emergency plan, and in fact, studies show that only 35% of businesses have a plan for evacuation. Be sure to train your employees in emergency procedures.
3. Install a sprinkler system

Fires spread rapidly. Firefighters respond as quickly as they can, but they can?t always get there in time to prevent severe damage. That is why your building should have a sprinkler system. The sprinkler may not totally extinguish the fire on its own, but it can contain the flames until the fire department arrives on the scene.

4. Test your fire prevention systems regularly
   
   There is no point in having a fire alarm if it is broken or runs out of batteries. Perform regular checks to make sure everything is functioning properly. If part of your system isn?t working, call a fire protection contractor to inspect, repair, or replace your equipment.
5. Be smart
   
   To avoid the need for a fire protection contractor at all, perform preventative measures and take extra precaution where fires commonly occur. Statistics show that 55% of medical facility fires originate in the kitchen. If your business has a kitchen, make sure all staff are trained in fire prevention and emergency protocol.