Tips for prevening fires inside a business

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The Bryan Fire Department says most business fires occur when no one is in the building, which is why prevention measures are so important.

“Businesses anywhere are a big part of people’s lives and the community, so keeping them safe from fires is important. and that really starts with prevention,” said Chris Lamb, the Bryan Fire Department Public Information Officer. “Prevention and a plan. Making sure everything is working and that your employees know what the plan is, should a fire ever occur.”

Lamb says an easy, but important task, is looking for those high-hazard areas where fires could start.

“Even though it is a business, still cooking areas are the number one cause of fires in businesses as well as in homes,” said Lamb.

Some practical tips to keep your building safe include being aware of and safely using high-risk areas and making sure flammable materials or chemicals are away from an ignition source.

Other measures to put in place include making sure your fire extinguishers, fire alarms, smoke detectors, and sprinkler systems are in place and working properly.

Another important thing the Bryan Fire Department stresses is to have a plan ahead of time.

“One thing I would suggest to business owners is to go over these plans with your employees, play the ‘what if’ game, ya know. ‘Hey, what if this fire happens, how would you get out? What is the plan once a fire starts? Who’s calling 9-1-1?’ You know a lot of people make response teams. So whenever a fire occurs, you can say ‘it’s your job to call 9-1-1, another’s job to go get the fire extinguisher, and someone else’s job to make sure a certain area gets evacuated,( etc.),” said Lamb.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires businesses to adhere to fire safety protocols.

The owner of Caffe Capri, Rami Cerone, says their biggest plan is prevention.

“We have fire extinguishers everywhere that we are required to have and we have a sprinkler system in our kitchen. We get that checked quarterly and updated because we have to and that’s a good thing to do. We have a company that comes in and makes sure that everything is good, and if we need something, they update it,” said Cerone.

Outside of federal requirements, one of the simplest jobs is the most important: the last person closing the restaurant checks the stoves.

“I just make sure whoever gets a key to the place and becomes able to close, they know that that’s the most important thing because you can’t rebuild overnight if something happens,” said Cerone.