Fire safety is a very broad topic. Multiple factors and potential outcomes—from smoke and heat to explosion and structural damage—pose a risk to everyone in the workplace. Census Canada data reveals that there were 39,047 fire incidents in Canada in 2021; about 5,000 of those were workplace related. In addition, work vehicles were the victims of a percentage of the more than 5,000 vehicle fires recorded that year.
A set of practices and policies to keep workers safe from physical harm or death starts with risk assessment and appropriate control measures. Pay close attention to fire hazards where the likelihood of a fire is high, but also in situations that may be less obvious.
Some key prevention measures include: