A fire can ravage a property within minutes leaving behind a trail of death, destruction, and financial loss. A fire within a commercial setting can also have a long-lasting effect on business owners, personnel, and customers, which is why risk mitigation is so critical to daily operation stability. Because of how commercial properties are built, any number of issues can arise and cause a fire. To prevent being one of the twenty-five perfect of business owners who are unable to recover after a fire, learning about these common causes can help prevent fire disasters.
Most Common Causes For Commerical Fires
The five most common causes for commercial fires include sources of cooking, heating, lighting, smoking, and vandalism. With staff and square-footage, fires should be expected and prevented.
- Cooking
More than sixty percent of commercial fires occur in restaurants and facilities that house occupants, such as hospitals and campus dorms. Three out of ten fires occur in offices while a tenth happens in stores that use cooking equipment, electrical outlets, and flammable materials. It’s important to undergo fire safety inspections and training to ensure your employees follow strict protocol when it comes to cooking or using heating sources. It will also help to display safety tips about cooking, an emergency response plan, and staff responsibilities when fires occur.
- Heating
Commercial buildings endure a lot of foot traffic both from employees and patrons, so proper heating is a constant necessity. It’s also the reason why fires occur in some buildings when furnaces, radiators, boilers, or individual heating equipment can overheat or malfunction and cause fires. Other heating-related issues like negligence or improper installation can also be hazardous causes. Having regular maintenance check-ups will reduce the likelihood of these fires.
- Electrical
Legal experts cite faulty electrical wiring or defective lighting as the cause for 70,000 fires annually that results in billions in property damage and hundreds of lost lives. Even a single spark can cause building material to ignite and burn, which means that if your building is not undergoing annual safety checks, you likely are at risk for electrical fires. It’s important to only use certified electricians for electrical work and properly train employees on maintenance and prevention.
- Smoking
Between staff smoke breaks and customers improperly disposing of cigarettes right outside of entryways, fire hazard from smoking is of serious concern to business owners. Designating proper smoking areas, having cigarette disposal units on hand, and performing maintenance checks will eliminate likely causes.
- Arson And Vandalism
It should be no surprise that arson and vandalism are among the most common reasons for commercial fires. It’s the cause of more than a third of academic institutions and a tenth of offices. Most of these fires occur after hours and tend to be in non-public areas such as restrooms, garages, or dumpsters. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about it, but practicing safety procedures like security checks and scheduling daily dumpster pick-ups will minimalize the risk factors.
To learn how Restore Pro will help your business with commercial fire damage restoration services, call us at 1-800-847-0114 or visit us at https://www.facebook.com/RestorePro911/.
