Potential Fire Hazards In The Workplace

Feb 18, 2022

Potential fire hazards in the workplace can be disastrous for your business and employees, but they can also, unfortunately, be fairly common. It is important to know how to identify fire hazards so that you can prevent them. Read on to find out more.


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Human Error

While we might expect the most likely sources of fire hazards to be based on technology of some sort, this is not always the case. Human error and negligence of acknowledging fire risks or not following safety practices with flammable materials can also play a major part in causing fire hazards. Examples of human error and negligence in the workplace could be:

  • Leaving cooking unattended
  • Spilling liquids over electrical equipment
  • Not using electrical equipment properly
  • Not testing fire alarms or conducting fire risk assessments regularly
  • Overloading power sockets

Technology

While human error and high-risk environments both hold many potential fire hazards, this leads us to how technology can be dangerous. If dust builds up in computers or other equipment, for example, this can prevent the equipment from cooling properly, causing it to overheat and catch alight. Similarly, if wiring is frayed or electrical items are left near water sources, this can put your entire property at risk of fire.

Faulty electrical equipment can happen in workplaces such as offices, workshops and warehouses. So, as the owner of a business, it is crucial to be aware of the legal actions that your business is making to ensure that you are taking the necessary care of all electrical equipment.

Managing These Hazards

It can be difficult to know how to manage these fire hazards, but a good start is to ensure that your staff are fully trained in fire awareness as part of their onboarding when they join the company, with periodic refresher courses to keep things up-to-date. You should also appoint a fire warden (or several, depending on the size of your business) to complete checks of potential hazards to minimise risks.

Providing your staff with information about their surrounding environment is also a good idea, such as posters reminding them how they should handle combustible or chemical materials at work or reduce fire hazards in the office.

Get The Right Training

Providing your employees with the correct Fire Awareness Training is a vital component of preventing fire hazards from being as prevalent. With Safety Aide, you can help avert these issues with online training which will cover everything from induction training to the Fire Scotland Act 2005 / RRFSO (2005).

Not sure about signing up for e-learning? Try our free trial Health & Safety Training to get a taste of everything that Safety Aide has to offer.

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