Posts Tagged ‘commercial fires’

Spring Tips for Evaluating Your Building’s Fire Safety Plan

Spring is a time of rebirth in nature, and we also use it as a time for cleaning, organizing, and setting new agendas in our lives. If you’re responsible for your building’s fire safety plan, spring might be the ideal season to evaluate and hopefully improve your commercial fire safety plan. 

The Ontario Fire Code requires certain commercial buildings to have a fire safety plan, and if yours is one of them, you need to revisit your plan as changes occur on your premises. However, if you find yourself too busy to handle the details, the expert staff at All Protect Systems, Inc has been designing, reviewing, and improving commercial fire safety plans for Ontario are businesses since 1996. 

Building Evacuation

Life safety is the most critical aspect of any commercial fire safety plan, and your number one priority is getting occupants out of the building during a fire. When revisiting your fire safety plan, make notes of any changes to the building structure or uses within it. 

Perhaps new furniture has been placed in a lobby, or an office has become storage space? Ask yourself how these alterations could affect your fire risks or evacuation routes. Physical changes to the building or uses of building spaces may require an alteration to your building evacuation route or even a new fire exit. 

Identify Hazards

As a building manager, your responsibilities include posting signs and keeping an eye out for faulty equipment that could ignite and start a dangerous fire. Your commercial fire safety plan must identify these hazards and educate the appropriate staff about ways to minimize danger.

The reasons for most commercial fires are surprisingly predictable. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), most accidental commercial building fires start from four basic causes. 

Cooking equipment is responsible for:

• 65 percent of healthcare facility fires
• 61 percent in restaurants
• 38 percent in educational institutions

Avoid fires from cooking equipment by:

• • Cleaning up any grease buildup Up Grease. …
  • Properly maintain the equipment
  • Keep fire extinguishers nearby

Heating equipment, such as furnaces, boilers, and radiators, cause:

• 14 percent of fires in industrial buildings
• 11 percent in office buildings
• Nine percent in restaurants

Avoid fires from heating equipment by:

• • Regular inspections
  • Preventative maintenance

Electrical equipment accounts for:

• 12 percent of office building fires
• 10 percent in stores
• Nine percent of restaurant fires

Avoid electrical fires by keeping an eye out for:

• • Corroded wiring
  • Overloaded circuits (blown fuses or tripping breakers)
  • Daisy chained power strips or extension cords

Despite the reduction in smokers, smoking still accounts for:

• Nine percent of office building fires
• Seven percent in restaurants
• Five percent in healthcare facilities

Avoid fires from smokers by:

• • Keeping smokers outside
  • Provide ashtray with sand for them to extinguish their cigarettes
  • Strictly prohibit any smoking around oxygen tanks

Encourage Feedback After Fire Drills

Fire drills can become a robotic experience, but it does force the participants to think about fire safety. Encourage the building occupants to share any ideas or concerns that they may have about fire hazards or the evacuation plan. 

Even if they don’t have any ideas on hand, your request can encourage them to give the matter some thought. Everyone who works in a building should have an eye out for potential fire hazards.

While spring is an excellent time to revisit your building’s fire safety plan, fire safety should be a year-round priority. However, if you prefer to delegate fire safety planning to professionals, All Protect Systems can help you with all of your fire safety needs. Call them today to find out what they can do for you!

Protecting Your Business Against Different Types of Fires

Commercial buildings usually have different fire risks from residential dwellings. They have several different types of fire source ignition material and multiple fire causes. Good building management involves identifying potential fire problems and implementing fire protection systems. 

All Protect Systems, Inc has been protecting Ontario area businesses from all types of fire danger since 1996. They perform inspections and can service all of your fire protection needs.

What Are the Major Sources of Commercial Fire Dangers?

Commercial fire sources vary according to the activity taking place in the building. According to the Canadian National Fire Information Database (NFID), some of the most common ignition sources include:

• Cooking equipment – Commercial restaurant equipment such as deep fryers, stoves, ovens, smokers, and toasters
• Heating equipment – Space heaters, water heaters, central air, baseboard heaters, and radiant heaters 
• Electrical distribution equipment – Electrical wire conductors, fuses, breaker panels, transformers
• Smoking material – Cigarettes, cigars, lighters, and ashtrays
• Open flame – Lanterns, candles, blowtorches, and welding tools

The NFID also compiles a list of the most common causes of commercial fires. These causes are considered acts or omissions that are either accidental or intentional. It also includes building problems that suffer from poor design or lack of maintenance.

• Arson – Criminal act of fire-starting by an individual or group for mischief or vandalism
• Ignition material misuse – Accidents related to smoking, welding equipment, other sources of open flame, accidental fuel spills, or overheating cooking oil
• Electrical or mechanical problems – Broken or defective electrical equipment, engine backfires, electrical short circuits, and manual control failure
• Equipment misuse – Overfueling of engines, lack of maintenance, or unattended equipment
• Installation, construction, or design problem – faulty wiring, flammable materials stored too close to a source of combustion, or other inherent building problems
• Human error – fatigue, lack of training, incompetence, impaired/intoxicated by alcohol, or distraction

How To Protect Against Different Types of Fires?

Proper and thorough fire protection for your business involves a multi-tiered approach. You need to develop a fire safety plan, according to the Ontario Fire Code and adhere to the following guidelines:

• Risk evaluation – Have someone regularly audit your building for any obvious or potential fire hazards. Keep records for all these audits.
• Passive fire protection – Maintain your passive fire protection by ensuring that fire doors remain up to code, penetrations through firewalls are properly sealed, and structural members maintain their fire retardant material.
• Fire Alarm – Install a fire alarm system with fire, smoke, carbon monoxide detectors, and manual pull stations. Test the system in accordance with the Ontario Fire Code, and make repairs when necessary.
• Fire extinguishing equipment – Keep fire extinguishers and fire hoses serviced and in good working order. Have qualified personnel inspect them on the proper schedules, and replace faulty or damaged equipment when necessary.
• Electrical equipment – Check for frayed electrical cords and overloaded electrical circuits. Turn off appliances when they’re not in use.
• Hot items – Keep hot devices like coffee makers, copiers, or motors away from paper or any other combustible material.

What Sorts of Buildings Are Susceptible to Fires?

Fire types are generally dependent on the type of building and how it’s used. Education institutions, healthcare facilities, restaurants, office buildings, and industrial buildings are all susceptible to fire dangers. Sometimes it takes an experienced professional to spot and correct the fire dangers lurking in your building.

The trained and certified technicians at All Protect Systems, Inc., are at your service. They’re a total systems provider that can handle all of your fire protection needs. Call them today to find out what they can do for you!