September 22nd marks the first official day of fall this year. With the transition to cooler weather also comes an increase in seasonal fire dangers for small businesses. Implement fall fire safety measures by addressing your facility’s indoor heating measures, landscaping, and rules for seasonal decor.

Safe heating measures

Cooler temps outside often lend to the desire for warmer temps inside. Before running your central heating system, it’s ideal to have your facility’s furnace inspected by a licensed HVAC technician. In addition to turning up the central heat, some people may turn to personal space heaters to keep warm. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has provided a checklist for Portable Space Heater Safety that should be enforced to minimize fire risk. These guidelines include:

  • Keep space heaters at least three feet away from any other person or structure
  • Use space heaters with auto shut-off and a tip-over switch
  • No space heaters even partially blocking walkways/exits
  • No use of extension cords with heaters
  • Turn off and unplug heaters when not present

Maintain Landscaping

Falling leaves are a telltale sign of autumn’s arrival. Combine dry, dead leaves, drier weather, and higher winds, and you have the perfect conditions for a fire to start. To minimize the risk of a nature-related fire starting outside of your facility, maintain your landscaping regularly. Implement fall fire safety measures with your landscaping by removing any fallen leaves from the area, trimming dead branches on bushes and trees, and opting for gravel over flammable wood mulch.

Use Caution When Decorating

Fall brings about many reasons for decoration and celebration. Whether adorning your office to support your favorite college football team or celebrate seasonal holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, it’s important to keep fire safety a top priority. Many decorations are made of paper or other highly flammable materials, so keeping them away from vents and heat sources is best. If you’re installing strand lights, they should be unplugged at the end of every day. Christmas trees should be kept away from fire sources and watered regularly to avoid drying out further. A dry tree is more likely to catch fire than a hydrated tree. And many businesses per fire codes, like hotels, are required to keep an artificial tree and not a real tree.

Fire Protection System

In addition to being proactive with your company’s safety measures against seasonal fire dangers, it’s crucial to ensure that your fire alarms, suppression systems, etc., are functioning at their best. Hiring an all-services fire protection company like Fire Systems, Inc. can help ensure every aspect of your fire suppression system is ready to go in the unfortunate event of a fire. 

Atlanta-based Fire Systems, Inc. provides comprehensive fire protection services to all types of businesses across the state of Georgia. If you have any questions or are ready to amp up your facility’s fire suppression system, visit our website or give us a call today at 770-333-7979.