When a fire breaks out at your business, you will not have time to sit down and research what to do. You will be busy trying to get everyone out and grabbing important documents amidst all the chaos.
That, along with many other reasons, is why your business in Plant City, Lakeland, Winter Haven, and nearby central Florida areas needs to have a fire safety plan in place before a fire starts.
Why a Fire Safety Plan Should be a Top Priority
Running a business takes time and money, so it is tempting to put administrative items on the back burner until you have time to get to them. However, you need to address a fire safety plan sooner rather than later.
Without a plan in place, you could be setting yourself up for even more of a disaster, including employee lawsuits and other liability issues. You also need to be cognizant of what could cause a fire in your business. A restaurant obviously has fire dangers in the kitchen, whereas a tech company could have equipment that overheats, and a retail store could have other issues arise.
Employee Safety is Key During a Fire
It is vital to ensure that your employees will be safe in case of a fire. In our area of central Florida, especially during storm season, it is possible that a fire could break out due to a lightning strike. Fires start with no warning and most people will react with a flight response, running out of the room.
Without a plan in place, they may run to the wrong area of the building and there is no way to keep track of which employees went where or if they got out safely. In other words, during a disaster is not the time for employees to learn proper procedure. Instead, create a plan and make sure each employee has knowledge of what to do in case of a fire.
Host quarterly fire drills and make sure fire safety training is part of new employee onboarding.
What Your Fire Safety Plans Should Include
Any business, small or large, should have a fire safety plan in place. There are many elements that go into ensuring a successful fire safety plan, which include:
- Building plans and layout that depicts planned evacuation routes, emergency phones, fire alarms, and fire exits for each floor
- Outline where each evacuation route should meet outside the building
- Explicit step-by-step instructions on what employees should do in the event of a fire
- How to train managers on proper steps during a fire or fire safety drill
- How often and when fire safety drills should be conducted
- Address evacuation of anyone who may require special assistance to get out
- A map for firefighters that outlines access points
- Create an accountability system for managers to keep track of all their direct reports so that it is easy to quickly identify who is safely out of the building
- Include an up-to-date list of staff, as well as any vendors or visitors who may be on site
What to Do After Fire Strikes Your Business
After you begin to pick up the pieces when a fire strikes your business, it is important to quickly address the fire damage that has happened. Restoring fire damage is vital to ensuring the building structure and items inside can be salvaged. Contacting a company such as True Builders to assist with the fire damage repair process should be one of your first steps.
When fire does damage your business, we are ready to help you.
At True Builders, we can help central Florida businesses located in areas such as Plant City, Lakeland, Winter Haven, and more whenever fire damages your property.
We have the experience and knowledge necessary to help you restore your business and get it looking fantastic again. Give us a call today at (863) 647-1800 if your business has sustained fire damage so we can begin helping.
