If you own a commercial building space, you should know the fire safety regulations you need to ensure public safety. While you may be right in thinking that fire sprinklers, alarms, and extinguishers are part of fire-safety methods, these things will only be in use when a fire is already happening. These items are essential for fire prevention, but not all safety measures are physical, and some you can do during the construction or design of your commercial building.
Commercial Spaces That Need Safety Measures
Fire safety in large buildings is something you should take seriously. There are several fire safety measures to take note of for all types of commercial spaces. These include:
- Restaurants
- Retail Stores
- Grocery Stores
- Distribution Centers
- Warehouses
- Hotels
- Hospitals
- Malls
Fire safety measures aren’t only to abide by laws in your area and ensure public safety. Having these fire safety measures set up in your commercial building will give you many benefits, including a lesser risk of property damage and expenses when a fire does occur. It will be more cost-efficient to know how to prevent it and take the necessary precautions.
Essential Fire Safety Measures to Consider
Here are some prime examples of fire safety measures that you should consider for your commercial buildings and what they entail:
#1 Access and Emergency Evacuation
When it comes to commercial buildings, open spaces are essential. The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) and the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) require various access to commercial buildings. It includes the installation of doors, windows, and other forms of access which need to be clear all the time so building tenants and occupants can use them.
You must ensure that your facilities have overhead doors, fire doors, exterior doors, hallways, stairways, windows, pathways, and outdoor areas. You should not allow items to obstruct these doors. Consider this safety measure as the most vital one.
#2 Fire Exit signs and Alarms
While having fire exits is essential to keep people safe, you need to make sure that these exits are easy to find. The NFPA requires commercial buildings to place an exit sign and lighting that people can see immediately. These signs should stay on and must continually be in light during a power outage. The poster should be bright, easy to spot, and big enough.
You should also remember to install fire alarm systems in your commercial building. These fire alarm systems will connect to different components that help you out during a fire. It includes sprinklers and smoke detectors.
#3 Practice Daily Habits of Fire Prevention
Another thing that you should work on is to ensure that people in the commercial building, or employees and tenants, follow daily habits. In any workplace, fire hazards are a possibility. Preventive measures can only go so far if the people working in the building are also careful and help prevent these fires. It all depends on diligence, reasonable rules and regulations board for fire prevention, and even training.
#4 Inspections and Maintenance
Caring for occupants and employees is a top priority. Fires can happen anytime, and no amount of preparation will ever change that. Since you can’t predict when a fire might happen, it would be better to ensure that your fire protection systems are functioning correctly 24/7. One way of doing so is ensuring that these systems get the proper maintenance, inspections, and repairs that they need from time to time.
It will help experts find possible problems with your systems and deal with them immediately before they cause any severe problems. One way experts ensure this is to install fire-rated access panels for general purposes so that experts have direct and easy access to the main components of your building, including the wiring, plumbing, and security system connections.
#5 Train Staff or Tenants
Another common cause of fires is human error. It usually happens because of the lack of fire safety training. One way to prevent this is to educate your staff or tenants on what to do or avoid when it comes to fire hazards in your building. Train them to use fire extinguishers, follow escape routes, and know where the exits are.
These are just some fire prevention methods you can use now with your commercial space. It will help lessen the risk of fires and problems, but you should also know an expert or two that is reliable in case of emergencies. Emergencies can range from a broken sprinkler to a fire threat. You will only be able to watch over your commercial building sometimes, and it would be better if you and your staff knew whom to call and what to do when there is an emergency.