Installation of Fire Doors

Poorly installed fire doors aren’t any more resistant to flames than a standard door. A fully competent specialist only should install your fire doors! Any specialist is fully aware of the importance of fire safety, so they won’t cut corners when protecting your property. Naturally, if your business uses highly flammable chemicals and materials, you should choose more resistant doors!

Maintenance of Fire Doors

Maintenance of your fire doors is just as critical as the installation. Doors subjected to general wear and tear won’t stay as strong, so you’ve got to prioritise their repair! Checkups on your fire doors should be annual at the very least, but every six months is preferable.

Fit Your Fire Alarms

Fire alarms are a primary step in your efforts for fire safety. You’ll rely on your fire alarm to tell when a blaze has started, so you’ll be able to evacuate quickly! Regular fire alarm servicing and provision is a crucial step in property maintenance, or your system may fail in the unfortunate circumstance of a fire. Ideally, you want an alarm in every room for your business and at least one upstairs and one downstairs in your home.

Develop Your Alarm Strategy

There are many types of fire alarm system that could suit your property. Firstly, a conventional fire alarm system will have detectors spread out in zones, reporting back to one control panel. Addressable fire alarm systems work similarly, but they can pinpoint precisely where a sensor has been activated. An analogue addressable fire system has multiple onboard computers to report back to one control panel! And finally, a wireless alarm system does precisely the job of an analogue addressable system, but without wires. A wireless network is perfect to fit in hard to reach locations. 

Seek Professional Advice

Trained fire alarm professionals will be best qualified to instruct the placement of your alarms, as well as which system will fit you. Don’t rely on your knowledge! The provider and installer of your fire alarm system will recommend how often you should service them, and you should follow those rules.

Include Fire Extinguishers

You should include fire extinguishers in the floor plan of your property! No matter where your team is located, extinguishers should be readily available in case of the beginning of a fire. Clever planning guarantees that your fire safety equipment is nearest to potential hazards, like the cooker in the kitchen. When it comes to extinguishers, you’re far better having too many than too few!

Train Your Staff

Staff should use different extinguishers for different types of the blaze. Training all of your staff in fire safety means they’ll be able to identify the correct extinguisher to use under any circumstance. Appointing fire safety officers inside your team is a helpful idea to help with organising evacuations. Still, if they’re the only staff who can handle extinguishers, then the rest of your team is at risk when they aren’t around.

Test Your Equipment

As with every other fire safety measure, you’ll need to perform fire extinguisher provision and servicing. Your extinguishers are useless if they don’t work, so you’ve got to be sure that they’re regularly tested and serviced in case of an emergency. Your servicing should happen at least once a year, but once every six months is a sweet spot! After all, you can put no price on the safety of your employees.

Perform Risk Assessments

Regular fire risk assessments will highlight any threats to the safety of your building and your occupants. With your risk assessments, it’ll better educate you to add new fire safety measures into your property! Fire safety is an ongoing process, and your approach should take the same attitude. You can’t simply tick boxes and claim to be prepared for the possibility of fire!

Get Your Assessment Early

Your fire risk assessment is the perfect first step to your fire safety journey. If you’re keenly aware of your building’s most vulnerable areas, you can locate your extinguishers and your fire alarms in the places more likely to see a fire. Prioritising these locations means that any staff nearby would be the first informed of any smoke to evacuate or use the extinguishers.

Assess Premises Often

While you won’t need a professional fire risk assessment more than once a year, you can keep an eye out for new fire risks yourself. Fire doors shouldn’t be propped open by cardboard since they need to be kept closed to be effective during an emergency. Tell staff what is expected of them to uphold fire safety around the building, and make sure PAT testing is up to date on any of your electrical appliances. Old electronics have the possibility of damaged wires, and electrical fires are particularly aggressive.

The Conclusion

Mindfulness is the most crucial element of fire safety. When you continually ask yourself whether your property could identify and handle a fire, it guarantees that you’ll implement adequate safety measures. Remembering that fire safety is not a tick-box thing means you can identify new risks and update your staff’s training. If you’re seeking a professional’s service to install your fire doors and fit fire extinguishers, contact us at Kiasu Workforce.