Woodshops obviously come with inherent safety hazards like sharp cutting edges and heavy lumber, but perhaps one of the most dangerous hazards is highly combustible wood dust. Likewise, fire safety is especially important when working in woodshops. Here are some common woodshop fire hazards and ways to prevent them. Wood Dust Accumulated wood dust significantly… Read more »
When we think about common fire hazards in an office, the first things that come to mind are probably overloaded electrical outlets and popcorn-burning microwaves. Refrigerators, on the other hand, are typically closer to the bottom of our list of potential fire hazards. After all, they’re cold, right? That may be true, but recently a… Read more »
When a company exhausts the resources in an industrial-size steel or plastic drum, they don’t just leave it out for trash pickup. Instead, they’ll typically send it to a facility where drums are cleaned, reconditioned and tested so they can be reused somewhere else. Unfortunately, these drums aren’t always completely empty when they reach reconditioning… Read more »
Retaining, properly maintaining and locating your workplace fire extinguishers is not only important; it is also a legal requirement! OSHA standards require that employers provide portable fire extinguishers that are easy to locate and that these extinguishers are properly maintained in a fully charged and operable condition. But knowing where your workplace’s fire extinguishers are… Read more »
A few months back, we discussed the combustion risk associated with lithium-ion batteries. These batteries can be found just about everywhere, and last year they made headlines when the lithium-ion batteries in Samsung’s Note 7 smartphones started spontaneously bursting into flames, ultimately prompting the company to issue a complete recall of the phones. Any lithium-ion… Read more »
As the cold weather slowly creeps in, we scramble to layer on clothing to fight the winter chill. When severe weather causes the cold to come indoors in our offices and workplaces, we turn the heat up to combat the frigid temperatures. Portable space heaters can create a comfortable environment for our workspaces, but they… Read more »
The holiday season is in full swing, and that means businesses all across the country are decorating their offices and hosting holiday parties for employees. This is a great opportunity to bring a little festive cheer into the office, but Christmas decorations can also constitute fire hazards if you’re not careful. Today we’ll show you… Read more »
No workplace is completely immune to fire hazards, but some industries are faced with a greater risk of fire damage than others. At a wood-shaving plant in Queensbury, New York, a lack of attentiveness to fire hazards has cost one company hundreds of thousands of dollars. On September 20 of this year, a blaze broke… Read more »
Recently, lithium ion battery fires made global news headlines when the batteries in Samsung’s Note 7 smartphones started bursting into flames, causing property damage and injuries to users. The company has since recalled the phones, and its engineers are still working to determine the root cause of the fires. The fires in Samsung’s phones may… Read more »
This week, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is hosting its annual Fire Prevention Week to raise awareness about what we can do to prevent fires in our homes and workplaces. On their website, the NFPA offers a variety of educational materials to help people keep their properties fire safe, and teach them what to… Read more »