When we spend the night in a hotel, it can feel like a special occasion, even if it’s only for business. There are many things that hotel owners must attend to in order for their guests to have a pleasant stay, including their safety. As this is a high-level priority, great pains must be taken, especially in the area of fire protection. Often, we can learn a lot about how to prevent fires by looking at certain things that have caused them in the past. That’s what we’ll be doing today: studying some causes of fires in hotels and motels and see how we can take those lessons to prevent fires in the future.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there are certain trends relating to hotel and motel fires. Recently, they released a study from 2009 – 2013 that provides some important data for us to study. For clarification purposes, in this category are included both year-round and seasonal occupancies as well as ones that serve multiple purposes such as banquet halls meeting rooms, conference areas, restaurants, etc.
In the time period studied (2009 – 2013), about 3500 fires were reported yearly at motels and hotels. Out of the fires reported annually, hotel and motel fires were responsible for only 1% of the total. As far as the outcomes of those fires, each year there were 9 civilian deaths, 120 civilian injuries and approximately $84 million in damage to property.
When we look at what caused the majority of the fires, 41% of them originated in the kitchen, with the kitchen equipment being a catalyst in about half of those fires. When we look at the total losses, kitchen fires accounted for 8% of all the deaths from hotel fires, 25% of all the civilian injuries, and 8% of all the property damage.
While kitchen fires have the most occurrences, behind it are fires that occurred in the bedrooms of the guests. And these fires did the most damages. Bedrooms fires accounted for 12% of the total of hotel fires (compared to kitchen fires at 41%); however, the damage from these fires amounted to $14 million in damage (compared to kitchen fires at $6 million). It’s easy to draw the conclusion that if a fire breaks out in a bedroom, the results will be more devastating than any other location – more than twice the cost in financial damages.
These statistics should send a loud-and-clear message to hotel and motel owners: protecting your establishment on every level from fires is of utmost importance. And this protection should also include flameproofing. As most of the damages from fires took place in guest bedrooms, it’s imperative that decorative items in those rooms such as carpets, drapes, curtains, upholstery, hangings, etc. are flameproofed, meaning they are soaked in or coated with fire retardants. When these items are treated, they’re no longer a factor in the severity of a fire – they don’t contribute to the spread of the fire, while they themselves may burn. This helps keep the fire contained, limiting damage and allowing time for guests to evacuate and the fire department to arrive to extinguish the fire.
All hotel and motels owners need to make sure the flameproofing treatments for required items are according to code and up to date. If those treatments lapse, the results will be devastating in the event of a fire.
If your hotel or motel or any other kind of business needs flameproofing, call us today. Certified Flameproofing has been an industry leader for over 5 decades, serving all of New York City and the Greater New York Metro area. We would be honored to serve your business, too. Please call today for a free estimate and to have all of your questions and concerns addressed: 800-590-5530