Safety Talk: Fire Safety

Safety Talk: Fire Safety

We often read or hear about fires that destroy workplaces, homes, forests and kill/injure people and animals. Fires start with the right combination of heat, fuel and oxygen. Even the smallest fire causes damage and harm. 

What’s at stake?

Fires cause loss in the form of:

• Property loss or damage – this means you could lose your job if your company’s burnt to the ground.
• Criminal offense - you could be found guilty of culpable homicide if you started a fire and people were killed.
• Injury - you could be guilty of causing severe burns or even crippling another person (you could be charged with gross negligence).
• Environmental loss or harm - you could be guilty of adding to the loss of natural resources, trees, plants, animals, etc.

What’s the danger?

• Your company may have to close down and you and your co-workers could lose your jobs.
• Your company might not be able to continue production for a long time. You’ll be put on short time until the damage is repaired.
• You could be killed - imagine the devastation to your family and friends.
• You could be badly burned - think about living with terrible scars, or without an arm or a leg.

How to protect yourself

Here’re five things you should know:

1. If you smoke, make sure you put out your cigarette and throw the butt into a fire-friendly place (ashtray).
2. Never smoke in an area where there’s a combination of heat, fuel and oxygen.
3. Never put oily rags near anything that generates heat. The combination of the oily rags (fuel), heat from a machine and oxygen could start a fire.
4. Never store papers and files near electrical cables.
5. Always ask yourself the question: Can this situation start a fire?