No business owner ever likes to think that there could ever be a fire in their building, but fires do happen, and when employees are not properly trained to handle the situation, the results can be devastating. As the owner of a professional office building, you probably do what you can to ensure your business building is protected from a fire, right down to installing a commercial fire system that includes alarms and sprinklers. However, it is just as important to ensure your employees know exactly what to do if a fire breaks out. Take a look at these three big reasons to make fire safety a part of your employee training processes in your office.
Employees will know how to react when they hear the fire alarm.
The sound of a fire alarm, can be well, alarming. If the alarm in your building goes off and the employees do not know how to react, they can feel startled and a bit confused. During employee orientation, and concurrently after through the years, it is important to have fire drills so employees will know how the alarm sounds and will know what their next steps should be when they hear it.
Employees will know the quickest route to safety if there is a fire.
During periods of scary or frightening events, chaos can break out in your office if people are panicked and do not know how to get to safety. Because of this, it is crucial that you take the initiative to perform fire drills in which employees are shown where they need to go and which route through the building will be their quickest pathway to a safe exit. Make sure maps are available throughout the building that clearly depict which departments should take which routes in the event there is a fire in the building.
Employees will know how to use fire extinguishing equipment if there is a need.
In addition to training employees how to react to alarms and how to get out of the building during a fire, it is a good idea to train your office staff on how to use the available fire extinguishing equipment. You may have a fore hose available in some areas or even fire extinguishers, but if no one knows how to properly use these items, they will be useless during a fire. Invest in fire training software that teaches employees how to use these devices and when it is a good idea to try and extinguish a fire.
Talk with a company like American Service Company for more information.