December 21, 2001—According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), each year workplace fires kill over 200 people and injure over 5,000, as well as cost over two billion dollars in damages. As it celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) looks back on tragedies in the past and how fire safety in the workplace has evolved through the decades resulting in a reduction of fatalities and injuries. However, despite these advances, fire tragedies are still occurring.
ASSE and its members have provided fire safety tips for the workplace for decades. It offers books on fire safety including the National Fire Protection Association’s “The Fire Protection Handbook”, item number 9926 and “Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering,” item number 9489, which offer the following workplace fire safety tips:
- ensure emergency exits are adequate in number, size and location;
- provide adequate clearance and circulation of air between combustible material and hot surfaces or heat sources such as copy machines, word processors and computers;
- design an emergency fire plan with escape procedures and emergency escape route assignments;
- provide automatic sprinkler protection and/or heat, smoke and fire alarm systems. All systems must be regularly maintained and tested; and
- have the local fire department come to your workplace once or twice a year to provide a review and update on fire safety and proper evacuation.
Both books are available from ASSE’s website.
