The Rural Stops: Workplace Fire Safety

Workplace Fire Safety measures must be a consideration for any company whether there is an obvious source of flame or not as a situation can quickly arise where circumstances come together to cause a fire risk condition.

A workplace fire is potentially the worst disaster the can happen to a business. As well as the terrible consequences of people being killed or seriously injured in a blaze, workplace fires often wreak damage so severe and costly to repair that many of the companies where they occur go permanently out of business.

In fact, it is estimated that up to 80% of businesses never fully recover from a serious fire, and even a small fire can still result in financial losses, disruption, loss of customers and damage to its reputation.

Government statistics show that those in charge of business premises - whether they be in offices, factories, hospitals or schools - have a long way to go in managing the risks from fire. In 2011 there were 27,500 recorded fires in workplaces which resulted in 12 deaths and 1,200 people injured.

Therefore, it is essential that employers take steps to adequately control all fire risks at their premises. Without proper fire safety measures in place, everyone at work and others who may be in the location, are at risk of being injured or killed as a result of a fire.

There are a wide range of work activities and materials that have the potential to cause a workplace fire. For example, discarded smokers' materials and sparks from welding or machinery can cause materials such as waste paper or solvents to ignite while faulty electrical equipment, damaged cables or overloaded electrical sockets can also be a source of ignition.

However, both the risk of fire occurring and the human and financial cost can be significantly reduced, or even eliminated, providing business owners take adequate precautions. This means identifying, assessing and reducing workplace fire risks, providing adequate fire safety measures and equipment and having a plan in place to deal with any emergencies.

Breaches of Fire Safety Law are now increasing as Fire Services routinely inspect premises after a fire, whether a small or large fire, and a business could be fined for not producing a risk assessment, blocked or non-operational fire exits and excessive storage of combustible items.So the need to ensure that workplace fire safety measures have been taken is a paramount need of any business owner of they want to avoid not only fines and a possible prison sentence, but also the loss of their whole business and possibly their whole livelihood.

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Nigel J Welford is a qualified Health & Safety professional and believes in making health and safety as simple as possible whilst still being effective and meeting all the regulations. For his free report "The Secret To How Health & Safety Can Improve Your Business And Profits: 7 Everyday Pitfalls To Avoid" from http://www.healthandsafetyintheworkplace.com

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Source: http://ruralstops.blogspot.com/2012/07/workplace-fire-safety.html

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