Fire prevention: how do you ensure a fireproof working environment?

Fireproofing your business involves a lot of things. Reducing fire risk in the workplace starts with a thorough risk analysis. That provides an overview of the conditions that can cause fire and identifies the possible consequences. The analysis addresses these questions, among others:

• How big is the company?
• What activities take place on these premises?
• How many employees are there every day?
• How likely is a fire to start?
• …

The answers to these questions determine which specific prevention measures are needed.

General safety measures are also essential. For example, emergency exits and fire extinguishers should be clearly present and marked. A smoking ban and general order and cleanliness will help you avoid risky situations.

Also ensure that every employee is aware of the emergency procedure and invest in training that teaches employees the correct use of products or equipment. Invest in fireproof behaviour of your employees.
 

Every company must also have an in-house firefighting service. Ideally, it is made up of various employees from across the organisation. This way, there is always an employee nearby who can take on a coordinating role in the event of a fire.

Key tasks of the firefighting service are:

1. Avoid a potential fire by identifying risk situations.
2. Facilitate evacuation by alerting everyone in case of fire, escorting employees to a safe place, and assisting public emergency services.
3. Extinguish or control an incipient fire.

You will optimally prepare members of the firefighting service for their duties through targeted training, which includes both a theoretical and practical component. Make sure that everyone in the organisation also knows who the members are, so that they can address them immediately in case of an exercise or emergency.
 

Stijn Tielemans, prevention adviser at Mensura: "The prevention adviser and public emergency services, among others, get a clear, overall picture of the prevention policy in the company from the fire prevention file."

Your organisation’s fire prevention file bundles all the measures into a well-organised whole: the fire prevention risk analysis, the internal emergency plan, the intervention file, evacuation plans, evacuation drill reports, the fire protection equipment, the dates and records of inspections and maintenance, and so on. Also state the measures you plan to take in the future in the overall prevention plan and the evidence showing why your prevention policy is sufficient to reduce the fire risk in the workplace.

The prevention adviser and public emergency services, among others, get a clear, overall picture of the prevention policy in the company from the fire prevention file.

But you should also keep updating the file based on new inspections, regular evacuation drills, and identified fire risks or situations that impede rapid and safe evacuation and intervention. Only by staying alert for possible improvements will you optimally increase your organisation’s fire safety.

With thanks to Stijn Tielemans, prevention adviser at Mensura.