Fire
Safety in the Workplace
The Thomas Township Fire Department has two main objectives
when it comes to assisting businesses in maintaining a safe work place.
First we want everyone to be able to work in a safe environment and
second, we want businesses to stay in business.
Through our Fire Prevention Bureau we address fire safety problems with
businesses and commercial establishments. While
we conduct regular inspections, you the employee still have a responsibility to
see that your work areas remain free from fire hazards.
There are many things you can do to help your employer maintain a safe place to
work.
The easiest thing you can do as an employee is if you notice a hazard in your
work area, report it to your supervisor or employer.
But do this in accordance with any policies or standards that may have
been developed by your employer.
Some of the things that you may want to look for:
Fire Extinguishers – They should be easy to
find and get to. There shouldn’t
be any thing blocking it. The gauge
on the handle should have a reading in the green area. If the needle is above or below this area that means the
extinguisher might not work properly when you need it.
Fire Exits – Exits should be properly marked
with an exit sign. You should know
the proper route to safely exit the building from your work area if there
happens to be a fire. These exits
should not be blocked at any point in time.
House Keeping – Every employee is going to
have trash and most trash is combustible with even the smallest spark.
Please make sure your work area is neat and tidy with trash in a secured
container. Please keep in mind that
containers should be emptied out as often as they are filled.
Smoke Detectors – Although not required in
many offices and businesses, smoke detectors provide for an early warning to the
potential presence of fire. Smoke
detectors should not be painted and you should not hang anything from them.
In most commercial operations the smoke detector is normally connected to
an alarm system, so they should never be tested without first notifying your
supervisor.
Automatic Sprinkler Systems – One easy to
find out if you have automatic sprinklers is to look at the ceiling, if you see
a sprinkler head, a silver V shaped head spaced every couple of feet, the
building you work in has a sprinkler system.
Make sure not to attach anything to these sprinkler heads and not to
paint over them. With sprinkler
systems there is usually a Fire Department Connection that can be found on the
outside of one of the walls. These
can be easily found, as there should be a bell directly above it that rings when
the sprinkler system has activated. This
is in place to alert people who happen to be outside of the building that there
possibly is a fire inside of the building.
The Fire Department Connection is where we will attach our hoses, in case
of a fire, to support the sprinkler system. Make sure that the caps are on the ends of the connection, if
they are missing make sure that nothing is inside, and check to make sure it’s
not blocked.
Automatic Hood System – These systems are found in
restaurant and cooking establishments. They
are located directly over deep-fat fryers, ovens, grills and other cooking
equipment. You should make sure
that grease doesn’t build up on the sprinkler head. You can do this by making sure the entire area is cleaned on
a regular basis. You should know
where the pull station is located and how to manually activate the system.
These are normally located near the kitchen exit.
These
are just a few of the fire safety items you can look for in the workplace, there
are many other types of systems that you might come across.
If you have any questions be sure to ask your supervisor or employer.
