When it comes to fire safety you really can never be too careful. Having a fully working fire alarm is a minimum and when it comes to protecting your staff and visitors in your business it is definitely worth enlisting the services of a Fire Safety Consultancy Bristol company.
Fires are incredibly unpredictable and can spread at rapid rates. There are some precautions that you can take to reduce the risk of a fire outbreak and the damage that can be caused by them and this includes making sure that you have appliances regularly serviced, turn off the electrical power to items when you are aware from your property for large periods of time as well as ensuring that you double check any candles have been extinguished correctly.
Here are some of the most common reason for fire outbreaks.
- Smoking – although many people are in the process of quitting smoking as the damage to health has become more apparent and moving over to alternatives such as vaping, smoking still remains one of the main causes of fires. Around 50 percent of all annual fire related deaths are linked to smoking. This can be something as simple as falling asleep with a lit cigarette or not fully extinguishing a cigarette before throwing the remains into the rubbish that may contain paper that will then easily ignite. One of the best ways to avoid smoking related fires is where possible to only smoke outside of your home or use deep ashtrays when you are in your house.
- Cooking – kitchen fires are the next most common cause of household fires adn this covers everything from appliances such as washing machines and ovens having electrical issues that then cause them to spark and a fire to spread through to frying pan fires or food items boiling dry and igniting. This is usually due to the person cooking becoming distracted perhaps by a knock at the door or a telephone call and the attention is taken away from ensuring that the kitchen remains safe. Fires are more likely with gas ovens and hobs but can still occur with electric appliances.
- Heating – one reason to ensure that you have your boiler system check on an annual basis is to ensure that the system is running smoothly and safely. Heating is the next most common cause of fires and can occur with permanent heating systems as well as portable gas fires and radiators.
- Other causes of fires include candles, electrical wiring and appliances as well as deliberate causes of fire.
