A Few Common Misconceptions About Commercial Fires

12/18/2021 (Permalink)

If a fire should occur and damage your building, reach out to SERVPRO Troup-Coweta. We will create a custom restoration solution for your situation.

It’s common for myths and misconceptions to evolve over time about almost anything that becomes a ubiquitous part of society. A couple of quick ones by way of example: The color red doesn’t provoke bulls to anger. You don’t swallow eight spiders a year in your sleep. And George Washington didn’t really have wooden teeth.

Fire safety is no different. There are long-held thoughts about fires that don’t exactly hold true, and these could make a significant difference in in the amount of damage your business sustains in a fire, or even your approach to fire safety overall.

Let’s look at a few misguided ideas about business fires.

1. Water can’t put out grease or oil fires. The truth is that water can be used, and often is, to put out grease fires. But the way it’s used makes the difference in whether it’s effective or not. Being able to cover the fire from above with a mist or a sprinkler makes it possible to take care of a grease fire without spreading it.

2. A triggered sprinkler system causes more damage than fire. Most people believe that when a system is triggered, all the sprinkler heads go off at once, dousing anything and everything, and bringing as much disaster to the office as a fire would have. But sprinklers go off in zones, and often only one zone, or even one head, is sufficient to take care of a fire before it spreads.

3. Buildings that are up to code don’t need sprinklers. A building code really only makes it safe for occupants to be able to exit a building in an emergency; most aren’t concerned with fire prevention or cessation. A brand-new building that’s built to code may still need additional fire protection.

4. Sprinkler systems go off accidentally. There is such a small occurrence of sprinkler systems triggering without cause that there’s actually not enough data to register it as something that ever happens. You shouldn’t worry about your system accidentally spraying the office down.

There are other commercial fire myths, but these are significant and could make a big difference when it comes to keeping your business or office safe.

If a fire should occur and damage your building or office, get in touch with SERVPRO of Troup-Coweta Counties to get fast, effective restoration solutions underway.