Fire outbreaks can occur anywhere and at any time, including workplaces. Towards the end of last year, a massive blaze erupted at a commercial building in South Los Angeles. None of the workers was injured, but the inferno destroyed the entire building.
Such incidents are common all over the U.S. Fire safety in the workplace, thus, is something employers often take for granted until it’s too late.
Whether you own a store, factory, or office, you must equip your workplace with the right fire safety equipment. Should a blaze break out, your employees will know exactly what to do and where to find the tools they need to stay safe.
In this article, we’ll walk you through a few must-have fire safety equipment your workplace should have. Investing in them will help you create a safer environment for your team.
#1 Smoke Detectors and Fire Alarms
If you don’t install smoke detectors and fire alarms in your workplace, you’re putting the safety of your employees and the integrity of your business at significant risk.
But do you know that your business would violate regulatory safety standards if it doesn’t have these fire detection devices? The OSHA requires employers to install alarm systems that would provide employees with a warning in case of a blaze outbreak. Thus, make sure you install these devices in your workplace.
Smoke detectors, as you can understand, are devices that trigger alarms whenever they detect smoke particles in the air. Installing these in your workplace will be beneficial since your employees will get enough time to evacuate the premises should there be a blaze outbreak.
Fire alarms, on the other hand, alert the entire workplace of a fire emergency. These often work in tandem with smoke detectors. Employees and visitors are warned of a potential blaze outbreak early on, which minimizes the risk of injury or loss of life.
#2 Fire Blankets
Every workplace has a kitchen, and yours is no exception. Fire blankets are, therefore, a must-have on your premises. These blankets help smother small blazes from escalating into deadly blazes by cutting off the oxygen supply that fuels them.
At first glance, fire blankets appear just like regular blankets. But unlike regular blankets, they feature two layers of woven glass fiber fabric with a fire-retardant film on the inside. This is what makes them helpful in extinguishing small blazes.
Fire blankets are effective in putting out Class B blazes—those erupting due to flammable liquids and Class F blazes—those involving cooking oils and fats. Should a blaze break out in your workplace’s kitchen or laboratory, a fire blanket will come in handy to douse it.
These blankets are also helpful in emergencies where the clothing of a person catches fire. In such cases, the blanket can be wrapped around the individual to put out the flames and protect against further burns.
#3 Fire Extinguishers
Is your workplace really fire-safe without a fire extinguisher? The answer is unequivocally no.
Fire extinguishers are the most important piece of equipment for extinguishing or containing a blaze. These devices help control small blazes before they escalate into raging infernos.
Fire extinguishers are of several types. Assess your business’ fire risk before you choose any. For Class A blazes caused by solid flammable items, go for water-based extinguishers. Water mist extinguishers are excellent for extinguishing Class A, Class B, and Class C (those involving flammable gasses such as methane) blazes.
Aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, also douses Class A and Class B blazes efficiently. But you mustn’t go for it. Hundreds of firefighters have filed the AFFF foam lawsuit in recent years. They allege that exposure to the firefighting foam caused cancer in them. These allegations aren’t baseless but have been testified by several studies.
A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found a positive link between exposure to AFFF and testicular cancer. The study revealed that AFFF contains cancer-causing PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Military firefighters diagnosed with testicular cancer had elevated levels of this cancer-causing substance in their blood samples compared to those cancer-free.
The latest findings from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reveal that 8,061 cases are pending in multidistrict litigation as of May 2024. These cases are filed against more than a dozen companies. Some of them, TorHoerman Law explains, include DuPont, 3M, ChemDesign Inc., and Tyco Fire Products.
For your employees’ well-being, steer clear of AFFF. Instead, go for water mist extinguishers.
To conclude, fire safety is an important aspect of workplace safety. You should not overlook it. Equipping your premises with the equipment discussed above can significantly reduce the risk of blaze-related incidents. It will help you create a safe environment for both your employees and customers.
Besides protecting your employees, the right equipment will safeguard your premises from the devastating effects of blazes.
