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Fire hazards are a serious risk to any storage facility, and they can cause serious damage to your business. From smoke to flames, fire hazards pose a real threat to the safety of your customers and employees. Fortunately, some simple steps you can take — both in terms of facility design and maintenance — can help prevent fires from happening in the first place.
In this post, we’ll look at some of the most common causes of fires at self-storage facilities and explain how you can protect yourself from them. Read on.
Keep Everything Dry
You should use dehumidifiers in your facility to help reduce the amount of moisture in the air. Suppose your facility does not already have sprinklers installed. In that case, you can add them yourself or hire a professional for you. This is also true for fire alarms and fire blankets—the more precautions taken beforehand, the less likely it will be that anyone gets hurt by an accidental fire outbreak at your storage facility. If possible, store the contents in rotating file cabinets.
Keep Flammable Items Away From the Sun
The heat can cause chemical reactions and ignite fumes in flammable items.
Some of the more common flammable items include:
- Gasoline
- Oil
- Paint
- Solvents
- Varnish
- Cleaning supplies (bleach, detergents, and soaps).
If you are storing any of these items in your storage facility, ensure they are stored somewhere dry and away from heat sources. Consider using rotating file cabinets and keep these items indoors.
Keep a Good Fire Extinguisher Handy
You should always keep a fire extinguisher near the door to access it quickly. Make sure to check and refill every couple of months. If you don’t know how to use it, take some time to read up on the instructions and familiarize yourself with how it works.
Conduct Regular Maintenance of Your Storage Facility
Regular maintenance can help you avoid costly repairs, fire hazards, and safety hazards in the long run.
- Eliminate sources of ignition. Keep a clean and dry area to store flammable items. Use non-sparking tools when handling these items and keep the area free from debris that could cause a spark.
- Limit access to combustible materials. Ensure that any combustible materials are stored away from the rest of the contents in your unit, so they do not become mixed with other materials. Because these could cause an explosion or fire if ignited by an open flame source such as a light bulb or electrical outlet cover plate.
- Install appropriate electrical wiring for your facility’s use requirements. Make sure this wiring meets local electrical codes before using it.
Get a State-of-the-Art Fire Alarm System
An advanced fire alarm system has been designed specifically for industrial use, meaning it can withstand extreme temperatures and harsh conditions associated with large commercial buildings like warehouses.
These systems are typically equipped with multiple sensors that monitor different areas in your building.
So if there’s any sort of airflow disruption, it will activate immediately to alert all occupants within range to evacuate immediately via:
- Floor speakers;
- Over-communication channels; or
- Directly through pagers worn by staff members who may be away from their work area at any given time (like when stocking products).
Final Word
Your storage facility is a valuable asset, and you won’t want to lose anything due to fire damage. You must take the necessary precautions to protect your facility from fire hazards to avoid such an unfortunate situation in the first place.
Investing in a state-of-the-art fire alarm system and conducting regular maintenance checks on your electrical systems is the best way to do this. we are sure the above tips were helpful.