Fire Safety in the Workplace

Fire Prevention

Understanding how to prevent a fire can be as important as understanding how to fight it.  All employees and employers need to be aware of how to avoid the dangerous practices that can lead to fires.  Be aware of the following dangers:

1. An accumulation of litter or combustible materials eg waste paper that may increase the risk of fire.
2. Any object or furniture/decoration that is blocking the emergency exit or passage.
3. Missing, damaged or discharged fire extinguishers.
4. Missing or damaged warning signs, bells or lights.
5. Any fire or smoke door that is not kept shut (except during use) or self closing mechanism that is not operational.
6. Objects that are stored in the fire hose reel cabinets.  These could obstruct the hose during an emergency.

Employees need to keep their work area and surrounding areas neat and tidy.  Electric appliances, matches, portable heaters and other objects that could be a source of ignition should be used with caution.  Turn appliances off at the power point after use.

Which Fire Extinguisher?

In the case of an emergency, determining which fire extinguisher to use can be of great confusion.  The various fire extinguishers can be identified by a coloured band - see table below: eg ‘water’ is a red extinguisher with a red band and dry chemical is a red extinguisher with a white band.