Is Your Commercial Building Prepared for Any Kind of Emergency

10/21/2021 (Permalink)

If you own an office building, fire safety and overall preparedness should be a priority for you, regardless of the size of the building. Being prepared with the right equipment and a well-thought-out emergency plan can save money and possibly even lives in the event of a fire or other emergency. Take a moment to see if your office building is prepared by considering the information below. 

Have fire extinguishers at the ready

When trying to avoid potential fires at work, make sure that the building has the appropriate amount of fire extinguishers to sufficiently cover the entire building. Extinguishers need to be tested on a regular basis to make sure they always work correctly. This also applies to all fire suppression systems like an automatic sprinkler system. Your local fire department can assist you in testing and will happily provide recommendations on what would work best for your office building. Be sure all of the building’s extinguishers are clearly accessible throughout the building should an emergency occur. Taking additional time to find an extinguisher during an emergency can result in further damage or worse.

Check your smoke and fire alarms on a regular basis

Smoke and fire alarms are essential to fire protection and damage control for commercial buildings of any kind. Installing them is great, but they need to be inspected often to maintain functionality; otherwise, you may find them non-functional when you need them most. There are many options for smoke and fire alarms, from hard-wired to wireless. Once you have a smoke and fire alarm system in place, make sure there is an action plan should the alarm sound off and occupants know what to do to stay safe and exit the building if necessary. Be sure to have an exit map clearly posted throughout the building so people know how to exit the building safely.

Practice ongoing safety training

An often overlooked but important aspect of safety preparedness is safety training for both homeowners and business owners. Including a fire safety training course in your workplace will empower building occupants to know exactly what they do should an emergency of any kind occurs, from fire to flooding to a gas leak, etc. It’s a good idea to contact your local fire department for information on available safety courses that you can use in your place of business.

Have emergency exit lighting to provide additional safety

Emergency exit signs that light up should be installed throughout the property to direct people to safety during a fire alarm or other emergency in the office building. Make sure that the emergency exit is clear of anything that could get in the way as people try to exit the building. Having appropriate lighting is also especially useful when remediation specialists arrive to clean up after the disaster.

Have an established evacuation plan

It’s imperative to schedule your commercial building to be inspected for any potential fire code issues or other issues that could hinder overall preparedness. The fire department will do it for free. Have regular fire drills and educate employees so that they are familiar with how to work the fire equipment, how to detect a gas leak, etc. You may also want to invest in an emergency readiness plan to make sure your building is prepared for any issue that may come along. SERVPRO’s ERP is an effective way to plan for any emergency for your office building.

It’s important to ensure that your office building is prepared for any emergency at any time. Reach out to the disaster recovery pros at SERVPRO of East Phoenix to learn how we can help. Contact us at 602-507-6163 to get more information today.