As statistics inform us, most fires occur at home. That’s not really a surprise, right? However, the next place fires most frequently occur is at the workplace. Neither of these statistics should shock us: more human activity, more chance for human error. While it’s true that no one ever really thinks that a fire will be a part of their workday, being informed of some of the deeper details of workplace fires can actually help prevent them.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) collects all kinds of data on fires. From 2007-2011, they conducted a particular study to analyze trends in workplace fires. By taking a look at this information, it helps us take more preventative measures at our places of business.
Over the life of the study, 2007-2011, approximately 3,330 fires occurred in the office or the workplace. On the average during each year, $122 million of property damage was a result of these fires. Along with the loss of property, there were, on average, 4 instances of loss of life as well as 44 injuries.
The good news is that these statistics are a vast improvement to what was taking place 30 years ago in the workplace. Around 1980, there were about 10,000 instances of workplace fires, compared to the recent 3,300! That’s a decrease of about 70%, which is very good news.
As far as the timing of the fires, we can observe certain trends from the data provided by the NFPA. Fires were more likely to occur during the week than over the weekend. Logically speaking, that makes total sense, seeing that more people are on-site during the week, therefore creating more possibilities for human error.
About 30% of fires that happened at the workplace or office were related to cooking. And when do most people eat lunch? Between 12 pm - 2 pm, which was exactly when most fires occurred.
Even though most fires occurred in during the week, most of the damage incurred from fires was over the weekend or overnight hours (7 pm - 7 am). We can conclude that because of the lack of people on-site during those hours, no one was around to deal with the fire or call 911. So while humans play a role in the instances of fires, they also play a role in alerting the fire department before extensive damage is done.
The data on losses from workplace fires is interesting as well. While workplace fires are only 12% of the total instances of fire occurrences, they account for 25% of the total losses.
Looking at things from a positive perspective, statistics show that equipment used for fire safety is doing its job. Automatic sprinklers functioned properly and went off as designed 90% of the time; fires were extinguished from the sprinklers 88% of the time. Those are great numbers.
So what can we conclude from all the data from this study? First, we can see the role that humans play in both starting fires and responding properly to them. Therefore, educating staff about safe practices as well as proper responses are of utmost importance.
Second, the importance of well-maintained fire equipment can’t be emphasized enough. When they needed to, sprinklers did their job, so making sure all fire prevention equipment is regularly inspected and up to code is vital.
Lastly, since fires can occur both with and without people present, preventative measures such as treating the workplace with fire retardants are very important, especially when no one is present to alert the fire department of a fire.
Certified Flameproofing is committed to keeping the Greater Metro NYC area protected from devastating fires through our flameproofing treatments. These treatments not only offer thorough protection, but they are also required by law. If you have need of flameproofing at your business, please call us today! Our flameproofing treatments can minimize the damage done by a fire should one accidentally occur at your workplace. We’d love to talk to you and give you a free, no-obligation estimate: 800-590-5530