As what some consider the fountainhead of world economies, New York City is the home of a myriad of businesses and enterprises. Industry, transactions, and bought-and-sold goods take place at breakneck speed on Manhattan, making it one of the most successful economies on the planet. While all of this is taking place, certainly there are particular dangers to this tenuous infrastructure. And one that probably doesn’t make a blip on the radar most days is the threat of fire. However, if this threat should become a reality, the results could be catastrophic for any of those business owners. Today, we are going to discuss the fires that occur at industrial and manufacturing sites.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released a study of manufacturing and industry fires that occurred from 2011 - 2015. The overall occurrence was 37,910 fires of this kind. While thankfully, the death and injury tolls were not overly devastating - 16 civilian deaths and 273 civilian injures, the biggest losses were from property damages - a staggering $1.2 billion in losses.
As for the primary types of these fires, over 26,000 were outside or unclassified fires, 7770 were structural fires, and 3410 were vehicle fires. Structural fires did the most damage, however. Those fires were responsible for almost half (49%) of the civilian deaths and about 80% of the civilian injuries. They also bore the burden for most of the property losses - 67%. However, structural fires only played a role in 20% of the overall industry and manufacturing fires.
While studying the reasons for these structural fires, the most significant cause was electric and lighting, accounting for 24% of all damage. In 15% of the fires, heating was the primary cause.
On the other side, outside or unclassified fires were the cause of 71% of the fires, resulting in $265 million in damages every year. Nine percent of the time, it was a vehicle fire that was responsible, with $125 million in damages every year.
While these studies don’t necessarily provide us with the nitty-gritty details, they do paint a picture of just how much damage and loss can be sustained from any kind of industrial or manufacturing fire. The amount of property loss can be devastating, as well as a loss in profit margin for the time needed to close the business for repairs.
Business owners must do their part to see that their property is protected on every level from fires. It’s not only important to the NYC and world economies, but also for the success of businesses on a local level. While there are many avenues to fire prevention and protection, flameproofing is one of them - an incredibly vital one. Having decorative materials treated with fire retardants will slow the spread of fire and cause them to be non-combustible.
If you are a business owner in New York City or the Greater NY Metro area, we would love to service your business with our flameproofing treatments. Please call us today so we can answer questions and provide you with a free, no-obligation quote: 800-590-5530.