When we're talking about the majority of fires, data tells us that most occur at home. As much of our time is spent there, this shouldn't surprise us. After home fires, the next location that has the most is the workplace. Again, no surprise there because usually, if we aren't at home, we are probably at work. And when humans are factored into the mix, you have human error...and well, we all know how that goes. When we get up for work, we don't typically think we'll encounter a fire once we get there. However, that is the case for some. Having some extra knowledge about workplace fires can help us prevent them.
Nobody provides information about fires like the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and true to form, they've given us a wealth of data regarding workplace fires. They've published a report regarding these kinds of fires from 2007 - 2011. When we look at these trends, we are given helpful information to process and incorporate into our fire prevention plans.
During the time of the study, each year there were approximately 3,330 fires that broke out at an office or business. From these fires, there were losses as well: 4 people died each year, 44 were injured, and there was approximately $122 million in property damages.
As for when these fires occurred the most? They happened during the week as opposed to the weekend, during the hours of 12 pm - 2 pm. The primary cause? Cooking. So we can conclude that most fires happened during some kind of lunch break meal prep.
What's also interesting to note is that while most fires occurred during the day, the most damage from fires happened over the weekend or overnight (7 pm - 7 am). Likely, this is because people were not on site when these fires broke out, so there was a delay in responding to them.
Another piece of data that's interesting regarding damages is that while workplace fires were only 12% of the total fires, they were responsible for 25% of the damage from fires overall. However, automatic sprinklers went off 90% of the time and extinguished 88% of the fires, so while damage was high, it could have been worse without these mechanisms in place.
While we hope for zero losses when there is a fire, that's highly unlikely. But what is good news is that we are heading in the right direction when it comes to workplace fires. Since 1980, workplaces fires have decreased by 70% - from 10,000 fires each year to 3,300!
So how can this information help us? We can easily conclude that humans are a significant factor - both in the causing of fires and in the response to fires, so we need to continue fire safety and prevention education at the workplace.
We can also see how important fire response equipment, such as sprinklers, are.
Lastly, protective measures are important, especially at the times when humans aren't present to respond. Flameproofing is one of those measures. If a fire were to start with no one on-site, flameproofed items are non-combustible, and therefore, won't contribute to the spread and strength of the fire. This can serve to protect valuable property for businesses.
Bronx Flameproofing's mission is to protect the Bronx and all the boroughs of NYC as well as the Greater Metro NY area from catastrophic fires through our flameproofing treatments. These practices not only offer comprehensive protection, but they are also required by law. If you have flameproofing needs, call us today! Our treatments can reduce the damage done by a fire should one suddenly occur at your workplace. We’d love to address your concerns and give you a free, no-obligation quote: 800-594-0117.