There are many common causes of commercial fires which you, as an entrepreneur or manager are likely to be interested in. By being aware of what might cause a fire, your business can take proper precautions to reduce the chances of experiencing any damage from such a scenario.
Cooking Equipment
Restaurants aren’t the only business to contain kitchen areas. Any company that serves food is likely to have a kitchen area. This is because cooking (even if it’s on a small level) requires temperature-controlled areas and flammable oils and greases cause fires.
Heating Equipment
Depending on the climate, a commercial building may require heat to remain comfortable for several months of the year. As with other mechanical equipment, furnaces and boilers are at risk of overheating. If this occurs, then they have the potential to catch fire; if you allow it to get out of control, you could end up losing your entire business!
Electrical Equipment
All modern buildings feature electrical wiring behind the wall for light and power. Unfortunately, electricity is a primary ingredient in fire. Old or defective wiring, overloaded circuits, loose connections, faulty fuses, imbalanced electrical loads, and many other electrical or lighting problems can develop that lead to overheating or sparks that ignite a fire.
Smoking materials
Lighted cigars, cigarettes, and other smoking materials can ignite fires if they are not disposed of correctly. Thankfully, smoking materials remain one of the top five reasons for commercial fires but less so than before; however it continues to put owners at serious risk since these types of material take a lot to fully dissolve and completely extinguish.
Intentional
An intentional fire is one that occurs as the result of the deliberate misuse of a heat source. Arson, in this case, would fit into this category since it’s an act of malicious, criminal intent done by someone who sets fires to structures on purpose.