Is Your Business Prepared In Case of A Fire?

5/5/2021 (Permalink)

Fires can come swiftly, quietly, and in the middle of the day or the dead of night, catching you off guard. So, how can you prepare in case of a fire? While many individuals have a fire safety plan for their home, it’s important not to forget to have preparations in case of a fire for your business, too. After all, you probably have employees or customers that frequent your business, so how can you be prepared to keep them safe if a fire were to occur?

To help you plan ahead to face an emergency, we’ve compiled a list of 3 things you can do to prepare your business in case of a fire.

How Many Fire Extinguishers Do I Need In My Business?

Have at least one fire extinguisher on each floor of your building. Not only is having fire safety equipment on hand integral for the safety of everyone at your business, it normally is required by most fire codes. If your business’s office or storefront has multiple floors, there should be a minimum of one fire extinguisher per floor of your building. Your entire staff should also know where the fire extinguishers are located and how to properly use them, too. 

1. Pull the pin
2. Aim at the fire’s base
3. Squeeze the extinguisher’s nozzle
4. Sweep the spray from side to side to fight the fire.

Do We Need To Conduct Fire Drills?

In addition to fire drills, make sure your employees know:

• Where the fire extinguishers are located and how to use them
• To call the local emergency department or 911 in the event of a fire
• Where to safely evacuate from the building.

Run through your fire safety evacuation plan at least annually, and do fire drills where the alarms go off and you follow your evacuation plan to a T so that everyone knows what to do if they go off for real. 

How Does My Insurance Apply After Fire Damage?

No matter what type of business you own and operate, you should have the appropriate insurance to cover any fires that destroy your material goods or space. In addition to having insurance to cover the costs of any fire emergencies, you should also have a backup that syncs regularly between your business’s server and cloud technology. You should also have digital copies of all important physical documents. This ensures that the destruction of any computers or materials will not completely compromise or eliminate your important documents and papers.

Is your business prepared in case of a fire? If not, today is a great day to start! It’s never too early or too late to plan for a potential fire at your business and consider the impacts that it could have. Contact SERVPRO of Belle Meade/West Nashville for fire damage restoration help at any day and any hour. You can reach us at (615) 242-9391. This franchise is independently owned and operated.