Commercial Fire Safety Winter Checklist

It’s that time of year again – businesses are starting to wind down for Christmas, and looking forward to that week-long Christmas shut down.

For many businesses, this means that their sites will be completely empty for the entire festive period. While this is great news for the team, it is critical that, if you are closing your site, you do so safely and securely.

Fire safety is imperative, even when there’s no one on site. Below, we’ve shared our handy fire safety checklist for businesses for this winter period. This includes both general fire safety tips during working hours, and a full list of fire safety guidance for when your business closes for the Christmas and New Year period.

Fire safety during working hours

During the last few weeks of the year, everyone will be in high spirits. There’s probably parties planned and decorations up in the office (alongside the other usual day-to-day tasks).

To maintain high standards of fire safety during this time of year, we recommend following our fire safety checklist:

• If you are planning on putting up Christmas lights, use LED lights that emit a low heat output
• If you are putting up a real Christmas tree, ensure it is well-watered. If the tree dries out, then it can pose a major fire risk
• Check that all of your Christmas decorations are flame retardant
• Avoid using candles and open flames on site
• Make sure your whole team knows that Christmas lights should be turned off at the end of every working day
• If you are using portable heaters, check them regularly, to ensure they are operating as they should
• Avoid using portable heaters as a primary source of heat for your site (as they pose a higher fire risk, especially if left unattended)
• Ensure all heaters are kept away from fabrics and flammable materials
• If you are regularly using your heating systems, you may wish to have them professionally serviced
• Ensure power sockets are not overloaded, and avoid using extension cables (where possible)
• If you haven’t recently had one, enlist a professional electrician or fire safety specialist to conduct an inspection of your premises
• Check your fire extinguishers, ensuring that they are in good condition
• Test your smoke detectors and fire alarms, ensuring that they are fully operational
• Check that your fire exits are free from obstructions
• Ensure all fire extinguishers are clearly labelled, and in their correct locations (in accordance with your site’s fire risk assessment)
• Ensure your staff’s safety training is up-to-date
• Run a fire drill, to check that your team are familiar with your emergency response plan
• Run through your fire risk assessment, checking that your site is aligning with the points identified in your previous assessment.
• It may also be a good time of year to conduct a revision of the assessment

Fire safety checklist for the Christmas shut-down

Then, when it comes to closing the offices for the festive period, here are all the key things that you’ll need to check on your site:

• Unplug any non-essential electrical equipment
• Switch off all Christmas lights
• Dispose of your Christmas tree, and any flammable decorations
• Remove any flammable rubbish (e.g. paper and cardboard) from your site
• Turn off your heating units (where possible)
• If you do have space heaters on site, switch off and unplug them
• Check that your fire extinguishers are suitably protected. We would recommend investing in a storage unit for your fire extinguisher, especially during this time of year (as they can help protect the extinguisher from cold weather-related damage).
• Activate your fire alarm
• Check that the appointed personnel (either a designated member of staff, or your security provider) have the right contact numbers, should an emergency occur
• You may wish to arrange for regular check-ins for your site, especially if it is closed for over a week

If you have any further questions about fire safety best practices, or are looking to strengthen your business fire regulations in the new year, Target Fire Protection is on hand to help. Contact our team for a quote today.