Warehouses are essential storage facilities for a company’s inventory. They hold the majority, if not all, of a company’s items. Warehouses have a lot of power over a company’s fate since they serve such a crucial function: protecting the company’s most important source of revenue. Any warehouse tragedy, such as a fire, can be devastating, potentially shutting down the warehouse and forcing the entire company to shut down. If you fail to protect your warehouse from flames, you may be dooming your business. Here are the top preventative actions to take to stave off warehouse fires.

Fire Safety Procedures

Establish fire safety practices suited to your business’s fire hazards using the knowledge gathered from your risk assessment. To ensure a coordinated reaction in the case of a fire, train all staff in these methods. To maintain housekeeping standards and fire safety precautions, implement an employee self-inspection program.

Fire Protection Tools

Assemble all the tools you have at your disposal to assist in the fight against warehouse fires. Extinguishers, sprinklers, and automatic fire detection systems are among them. The number and type of fire extinguishers you’ll need is determined by the nature of your company. The National Fire Protection Association recommends one 2-A extinguisher per 3,000 square feet for Class A fires—those involving solid materials like wood, paper, or textiles. All employees must have access to a fire extinguisher within 75 feet of their workstation, according to OSHA. All employees must have access to an extinguisher within 50 feet of travel distance in locations that include Class B flammables, such as workshops, storage spaces, research activities, garages, warehouses, or service and production areas.

Storage Arrangements

For a variety of reasons, failing to organize clearly defined, suitable storage might increase your fire risk. Crowded aisles can make it difficult for people to escape a fire, tight warehouses can spread fire more readily, and placing flammable liquids alongside other warehouse merchandise dramatically increases the risk of a fire. Keeping electrical switchgear and heating equipment clear of storage, never allowing goods to get within 18 inches of lighting, allowing enough clearance between sprinkler heads and stored goods utilizing flue space dividers to ensure your sprinkler system can effectively douse the area, and segregating hazardous and non-hazardous materials are all ways to organize clearly defined, adequate storage. Smart storage can significantly reduce the risk of a fire.

We hope this article was great in letting you know of the preventative actions to take to stave off warehouse fires! A strong warehouse fire prevention program should be built on the foundation of this list. There are dozens of other fire-prevention measures you may take, but the best ones will depend on your warehouse’s specific dangers.