Many of the nation’s 5,000 annual office building fires could be prevented if companies and employees followed basic on-the-job fire safety practices.  We would like to offer the following general guidelines to help make your place of business a safer place to work.

• Arson is the largest single cause of fires in the workplace.  Keep your workplace secure.  Lock doors after hours and remove clutter from public areas.

• Don’t stack papers on top of computer monitors, and be sure to give heat-producing equipment room to breathe.

• Don’t pinch extensions cords under furniture, and don’t plug extension cords into each other.

• Report and replace frayed electrical cords.

• Keep stairways and exits clear of trash, cleaning supplies, and other combustibles.

• Unplug coffee makers and other small appliances when you leave work.

Plan Ahead for a Fire Emergency

• Read your building’s evacuation plan

• Know where the fire alarms are located and learn how to use them

• Know at least two ways out of your work area

• Count the doors or desks between where you work
  and the nearest exits

• If you have a physical disability, make sure your employer includes your special needs in the company evacuation plans

Employer Responsibilities

• Train all employees in the proper operation and use of portable fire extinguishers

• Train all employees in fire escape procedures

• Prepare and post building evacuation plans

• Conduct regular fire drills

• Include the needs of disabled employees in emergency planning

When Fire Strikes…

• Sound the alarm, even for a small fire

• Leave immediately and close doors behind you

• If you encounter smoke, try a different escape route.

• If you have to escape through smoke, crawl.  Keep your head one to two feet above the floor.  That is where the air is cleanest.

• Test doorknobs and the space between the door and its frame with the back of your hand.  If the door is warm, try another escape route.  If it is cool, open it slowly.  Be ready to slam the door if smoke pours through.

• Once outside, move away from the building and out of the way of firefighters.  Remain outside until the fire department says you may go back in.

• In some high-rise buildings, the fire emergency plan requires workers in areas not directly involved in the fire to remain in the building until instructed otherwise by firefighters.

• Never ignore a fire alarm!