Fire safety. Common fire hazards. Fire prevention tips. Importance of Fire safety
Fire safety is a set of procedures planned to minimize the destruction caused by fire. It refers to the set of caution that is taken to prevent or diminish the probability of fire that may result in fatality, injury or property damage.
Threats to fire safety are commonly known as Fire Hazards. A Fire can take place at any time be it an industrial area or non-industrial area such as residential buildings, hospitals, hotels, commercial compounds, educational institutions, warehouses, etc.
Common fire related hazards
Main causes of fire at workplace include:
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Electrical equipment: Mistreated or bare wiring can lead to short circuits which will eventually generate fire.
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Combustible materials: Flammable liquid/gasses chalk up to fire if not used and stored properly.
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Employee training: If the employees are not trained to notice fire related issues and take essential preventive measures, there is a high chance of fire hazards.
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Lightning equipment: Inappropriate installation of lighting equipment creates major fire hazards.
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Waste substances: Fire needs fuel. It is often seen that fire generally spreads quickly due to these unwanted waste materials.
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Smoking: Negligent disposal of cigarette butts and match sticks provides an opportunity to cause fire hazards.
source : safeopedia
Fire prevention techniques
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Attainable equipment: All the fire protection equipment (Fire extinguishers, control panels, etc.) should always be kept at an easy reachable place.
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Proper storage: Flammable materials are to be stored in a secure and safe environment.
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Timely inspection and maintenance: It is a good practice to do timely maintenance and inspection of the fire safety equipment to verify that all the equipment are working properly.
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Regular waste disposal: Disposing unwanted waste will prevent unnecessary issues which can lead to fire hazards.
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Automatic fire suppression system (AFSS): It includes wet sprinklers, gas suppression system and water mist which will restrain the fire from spreading quickly.
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Fire safety training: All the employees should be given fire safety training which will give them all the information and techniques to avoid/prevent fire. This helps them to make appropriate decisions at the time of fire hazards.
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Emergency Plan: Emergency and evacuation plan is very important to avoid fire hazards to a greater extent. Safety animation videos can help with conveying all the necessary procedures and guidelines effectively.
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Designated Smoking area: A designated smoking area should be made for proper disposal of cigarettes and matches. It is recommended to ban smoking around flammable working environments.
Importance of fire safety training
Fire safety training ensures that your employees have the skill to act in an event which involves fire. It also makes sure that your workers take necessary actions in an emergency that not only save their lives but also the lives of everyone around them.
As per the ADSI-2019 report, there were 11,037 fire accidents reported across the country in 2019. The number of such reported fire accidents fell by around 16% compared to 2018. The decline was more steeped compared to the year earlier, which was around 2%. Source: factly
Fire accidents in India (2015-2019)
From the data available with us, it clearly shows that fire accidents are taking a dive in India. The companies are taking fire safety issues quite seriously now. They know pretty well that the cost incurred by fire is not a joke. An estimated 1000 crores are lost every year due to fire hazards at the workplace.
Fire safety training is the best possible way to give appropriate knowledge and skills to prevent fire hazards. As we all know fire hazards will definitely hamper the operations of the business and are going to cost the company immensely. So it is recommended to give proper fire safety training which not only saves lives but also prevents unnecessary expenses to the company.
There are plenty of resources available, which will give the employees ample amount of detailed information on fire safety. Safety animation videos can present all the fire related scenarios easily for better understanding of employees. E-learning modules are also a great way to start with the basics of fire safety training.
