Is Your Workplace Prepared for a Fire Emergency?
September is National Preparedness Month!
Remember back in school when we all enjoyed the occasional fire drill because it got us out of class for a few minutes? In your workplace, whether remote or at the office, a fire drill might be more of an annoyance than a relief, but it’s no less important now than it was back then. Here are some things to keep in mind when planning for a fire emergency at your office.
Protect Your Team
Your facility should have a plan on how to evacuate the building in the event of a fire, just like you would have a plan for where to go in the event of a tornado. Consider all the people who are in your building on any given day – staff, visitors, vendors, contractors, delivery staff, or even the general public – and have a plan in place to make sure they are accounted for in the event of an evacuation.
Your facility should be equipped with fire extinguishers, and most local fire departments offer training on how to use them, so employees can extinguish a small fire and know what to do in the event of different types of fires. Don’t forget smoke detectors, and be sure to keep the batteries up to date (that shouldn’t be too hard when the beeping starts driving people mad)!
Protect Your Documents
Fire-proof file cabinets can keep your sensitive and important documents safe for a time in case of a fire and are often water resistant in preparation for the subsequent water damage associated with putting out the fire. Some are even impact-resistant should it take a fall in a damaged building.
Consider a durable safe for valuable data backups or other documents that need to be kept on-site.
The most important thing to protect in the event of an office fire, of course, are the lives of your staff and guests, so plan for the worst and be ready to respond for the best possible outcome!
