6 Strategies for Fire Prevention in the Workplace

Martha Kendall Custard

Fire prevention in the workplace is crucial to protecting both the safety and well-being of your employees and the success of your business. Workplace fires strike when you least expect them, leaving behind devastating consequences. In this blog, we’re reviewing the essential safety protocols you can implement to reduce the risk of fire in your workplace.


Why Is Fire Prevention Important?

The risk of fire is always present. Not all fire hazards are obvious or well-known, and the danger is magnified in a workplace where employees rely on technological equipment to do their jobs. When risks go unnoticed and fires do occur, the consequences can be catastrophic.     


According to the NFPA, non-residential structure fires accounted for 9% of all reported fires, 4% of fire-related civilian deaths, and 11% of fire-related civilian injuries in 2022. A tragedy like this can send waves of grief, shock, and fear through your organization. The effects are devastating and detrimental to employee well-being and productivity. 


Then, there’s the financial impact to consider. Fires destroy essential equipment, records, and facilities. Property loss due to non-residential fire amounted to around 4.7 billion dollars in 2022. Add up the cost required to rebuild lost facilities, assets, and equipment, operational losses, insurance hikes, and other fees, and you’ll see how quickly the cost of a workplace fire can become catastrophic to your business. 


To top it all off, preventable fires often carry legal consequences. Fail to implement the applicable fire safety measures, and you could be facing penalties and lawsuits that will slow your financial recovery even further.


This is why fire prevention in the workplace is so important. Workplace fire safety keeps your employees safe, your facilities in working order, and your business far away from legal trouble.


Key Strategies for Fire Prevention in the Workplace

1. Identify Fire Hazards

To create an effective workplace fire safety plan, you have to know what you’re up against. That means conducting a comprehensive risk assessment to identify all potential fire hazards. 

Here are some common workplace fire hazards to consider:

  • Cooking appliances: If not used or maintained the right way, the toasters, microwaves, stoves, ovens, and coffee machines in your kitchen and/or breakroom pose a serious fire risk. Promote safe cooking by installing and maintaining adequate ventilation in all kitchen areas, keeping flammable materials away from cooking appliances, and implementing regular cleans and inspections to prevent the buildup of grease.
  • Electrical hazards: Electrical equipment like extension cords, overloaded power strips, overloaded outlets, and faulty wiring are leading causes of workplace electrical fires.
  • Heaters: Personal space heaters, furnaces, boilers, and poorly ventilated heating systems are another serious fire risk. To prevent heating equipment-related fires, schedule regular inspections and maintenance, keep combustible materials far from heating equipment, and use personal heaters with automatic shut-off features and applicable safety certificates.
  • Smoking materials: When not disposed of properly, cigarettes, matches, and other smoking-related items may easily ignite nearby flammable materials. One way to prevent this risk is by designating a smoking area equipped with ashtrays and garbage cans a safe distance from your building.
  • Improper storage and housekeeping: Cluttered facilities are dangerous. Improperly stored paper, cardboard boxes, debris, and other flammable office supplies fuel fires, allowing them to spread further and faster. To avoid this risk, keep your facilities clean and organized, with flammable materials stored in designated areas and waste discarded according to the relevant workplace fire safety guidelines. Be extra cautious with how you store combustible/flammable liquids and gasses, as a single spark could cause an explosion. Keep these containers sealed and check regularly for spills.
  • Dust buildup: When dust collects without proper ventilation, explosions can occur. Facilities that cut plastic, wood, and metal should pay special attention to this risk. Over time, dust and grease buildup on hot machines can cause a dangerous fire. Keep your facility safe by keeping it clean and using extraction fans to get dust out of the air.
Common workplace fire hazards graphic.

2. Develop an Emergency Plan

When your fire prevention efforts fail, a clear fire emergency action plan (EAP) tailored to your facility’s specific needs will save lives and minimize damage. Include all emergency contact numbers, assembly points, evacuation routes, staff roles, and protocols. Make sure everyone who works at your facility is aware of this information. Additionally, make sure that your employees all know how to activate the alarms and contact emergency services. 


3. Install and Maintain Workplace Fire Safety Equipment

When fire prevention in the workplace fails, you’ll need to have functioning workplace fire safety equipment at the ready. Stock your workplace with fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, and fire alarms. These tools are often what keep a small fire from becoming a serious one.


It’s not enough to simply install your workplace fire safety equipment, however. You have to inspect and maintain your equipment on a regular basis to confirm it is working properly. That way, you’ll always know the tools will function when you need them the most. Maintenance schedules will vary based on the type of equipment and your organization’s policies, but here is a general idea of how your inspection and maintenance schedule should look:

  • Fire extinguishers: Inspect monthly to ensure they are charged and accessible.
  • Smoke detectors and fire alarms: Test twice per year. Replace batteries as needed.
  • Sprinkler systems: Inspect once per year to confirm compliance with regulatory standards.


Organizations can also hire certified workplace fire safety specialists to thoroughly examine all fire safety equipment and systems, checking for any risks that have been overlooked and securing compliance with applicable regulations.


4. Conduct Regular Fire Drills

You never know how someone will react when faced with a true emergency. Not practicing fire drills essentially passes the reins to each employee’s fight-flight-freeze response. When lives are at risk, there’s no room for panic or chance. Practicing fire drills engrains the proper emergency response protocol into your team’s muscle memory.


The more practice they have in a controlled environment, the easier it will be to pull off a smooth evacuation in a true emergency. Fire drills are also a helpful way to spot potential weaknesses in your workplace fire safety plan. 


Schedule at least two fire drills a year. Use these drills to assess how long your evacuations take, how well employees are following protocols, and the level of communication efficiency. Once your assessment is complete, discuss the results with your employees. It’s a great way to reinforce the memory and brainstorm ways to improve performance next time around.


5. Assign Fire Safety Roles and Training Requirements

The most effective fire safety plans assign roles and educate their employees on how to prevent and respond to fires. Your organization should assign the supervision of workplace fire safety to a specific person or team. They will act as your fire warden and be responsible for the following:

  • Understanding your facility’s unique fire risks
  • Implementing emergency procedures
  • Conducting fire safety inspections
  • Fostering a fire safety culture of responsibility and awareness
  • Communicating high-risk areas and potential safety measures with leadership
  • Enforcing fire drills
  • Training employees to follow the emergency response procedures 
  • Performing weekly walkthroughs to ensure all evacuation routes and emergency exits are clear
  • Securing emergency assistance for employees with disabilities


Fire safety training should teach employees how to prevent fires. This encompasses proper equipment use, hazard reporting, evacuation plans, housekeeping requirements, and more depending on your organization’s needs.


6. Leverage Technology for Fire Safety

The right software can help you simplify fire prevention in the workplace. For example, you can use Forms on Fire to streamline inspections, track maintenance schedules, and secure compliance with applicable fire safety regulations.


Use our library of customizable templates to design a fire safety management app according to your organization’s exact needs. You can create fire safety inspection checklists, equipment maintenance checklists and schedules, and so much more. 


Your forms will be accessible from any mobile device, with or without internet access. This helps employees can access emergency procedures quickly and easily, whether they’re preparing for inspections or responding to a legitimate emergency. The data will sync to the cloud automatically, compiling everything you need to assess fire safety performance and prove compliance in one spot. All in all, these innovative features promote a proactive, collaborative approach to fire prevention in the workplace.


Interested in streamlining your workplace fire safety efforts to protect employees, safeguard assets, and maintain operational resilience? Take the first step toward a safer workplace by snagging a free trial of Forms On Fire and start building you fire safety forms and checklists..


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