Proactive fire risk management in your facility

Any business can be impacted by fire - planning for the unexpected will make a huge difference in the consequence and severity of that impact.

“I didn’t think that was a risk.”

“I never knew fires could spread so quickly.”

“I never anticipated this could happen to my business.”

In our industry we hear these phrases from building owners and facility managers a lot.

Many business owners have the mindset that they will never be affected by fire, and this mindset can completely undo an important first line of defence against fire emergencies - proactive risk management.

State and Federal legislation clearly outlines that any business must have in place emergency and evacuation plans for all facilities to the Australian Standard (AS3745), and that each plan must be updated and practiced with personnel at least every 12 months.

Instead of an administrative and operational burden, this planning opportunity should be leveraged as your first line of defence. It allows you to work with your key stakeholders to broadly consider what threats exist, the likelihood and severity of those threats, and what mitigations should be in place to proactively prevent and manage any incidents.

Some common questions we like to ask our clients include:

• Do you store hazardous substances on site?

• Do you have commercial kitchen facilities on site?

• Could one of your workers make an error that may result in a fire (even something as benign as smoking outside a designated area or leaving an electric light on overnight)?

• Do contractors regularly come onsite conducting any type of hot works?

• Do you heat large areas?

• Do you have team members or contractors working at heights or in confined spaces?

• Does your facility operate in a known bushfire risk area?

From posing these questions through to detailed scenario planning, Safety101 can support your business to bring your facility emergency plan to life - allowing you and your team to truly be able to expect the unexpected.

Reach out to discuss your emergency or evacuation plan needs: admin@safety-101.com