5 Common Causes of Fire in the Workplace

When it comes to ensuring your workplace and your employees are safe, fire is one of the greatest risks to protect against. Businesses affected by fire often don’t recover, so ensuring your property is adequately protected is essential.

The landlord of the workplace building must make sure that the building complies with current fire legislation and have a recent fire risk assessment completed. This, along with ensuring the building is protected by a compliant life fire safety system, will reduce the likelihood of fire taking hold.

However, there are several instigators of fire in the workplace but the main reason why fires start is mostly negligence. The most common causes of workplace fires are:

Ensuring the building is protected by a compliant life fire safety system, will reduce the likelihood of fire taking hold.

1. Human Error
Human error is one of the main causes of fires in the workplace. Some accidental errors are combustible liquids igniting, burning food in the kitchen area or spilling fluid in electrical devices and equipment. It is the duty of the responsible person to ensure proper training is provided to all employees to evade such instances.

2. Electrical Fires
Electrical fires in the workplace fire are caused through incorrect wiring, loose wires or overloading extension cables. To avoid these problems the responsible person must evaluate the safety of electrical devices and equipment, to remove as many fire hazards as possible.

3. Smoking
This is also a common cause of fire in the working area, although this is reduced due to the introduction of designated smoking areas. Facilities should be provided to ensure cigarettes are discarded properly, and smoking areas are away from hazardous areas containing flammable objects. A single cigarette can be a cause of huge fire.

4. Flammable Vapours and Liquids
Warehouses, buildings or factories often stock flammable liquids as well as other combustible materials. These materials can easily combust with contact from just one spark. Always make sure that the containers filled with flammable vapours or liquids are properly sealed and stored in a safe place to help minimise fire risk.

5. Arson
Arson is a major reason for business-related fires, especially businesses that are prone to vandalism. Security measures such as CCTV should be in place for at-risk businesses to reduce the opportunity for arson, as well as effective fire safety systems to help prevent fire spread. Removing waste items from site can also help reduce arson risk.