50 Potential Fire Hazards In The Workplace

The first step of any fire risk assessment is to identify fire hazards. Fire hazards in your workplace are anything that may create a fire.

If you know the fire triangle, then it will be no surprise that fire hazards come into three categories:

• Sources of ignition/heat
• Sources of fuel
• Sources of oxygen

These are the three things needed for a fire: Ignition. Fuel. Oxygen.

Identifying fire hazards is so important that it's the first step in the fire risk assessment. So you'll need to know how to spot fire hazards in your workplace.

Why?

Because once you know the hazards, you can calculate the risk. How likely is it the hazard could start or contribute to a fire? And how serious could the fire be?

Once you have identified the hazards and measured the risk, you can work on ways to reduce the risk - preventing fires from happening and making your workplace safer.

Fire hazards are everywhere, and when you go through the list, you will probably find that many exist in your work environment.

You might not be able to remove all of the fire hazards in your workplace. But remember fire needs all three elements, fuel, heat and oxygen to survive. If you control these hazards and keep them apart, you can reduce the risk.

Let's go through the list of some common examples of fire hazards. If there's a potential fire waiting to happen at your workplace, you might be able to stop it before it starts.

Ignition fire hazards

The majority of fires need an ignition source to start. Identifying ignition sources in your workplace is important so that you can remove them, or control them.

Some ignition sources might always be present, like cooking equipment, but many ignition sources can be introduced during work activities (e.g. welding or hot work), by people (e.g. smoking), or due to faults.

You probably can't remove all ignition sources from your workplace, but you should keep ignition sources separate from combustible materials and other fuel sources to prevent fires.

1. Smoking materials
2. Electrical faults
3. Overheating machinery
4. Radiated heat
5. Cooking equipment
6. Portable and fixed heaters
7. Sparks from equipment
8. Overloaded electrical circuits
9. Static electricity
10. Friction
11. Hot surfaces
12. Steam pipes
13. Electrical equipment
14. Boilers
15. Welding equipment
16. Naked flames
17. Hot works processes

It's important to consider the use and location of ignition sources. Electrical equipment might be perfectly safe for everyday use. But, take it into a flammable atmosphere, and the risk increases dramatically.

Fuel fire hazards

Fuel is needed to burn for a fire to start and to maintain the fire.

When we talk about fuel as a fire hazard, we don't just mean the fuel you fill your car up with (petrol and diesel). Fire is not fussy and accepts a wide variety of fuel sources. Fuel for fire can come in the form of combustible materials, oils, flammable liquids and gases.

Removing the fuel, reducing fuel, and separating the fuel from ignition sources are all ways to minimise fire risk.

The type of fuel will usually determine the class of the fire, and the type of fire extinguisher you can safely use to put it out.

So what types of fuel are present in your workplace? Here are some examples:

1. Paper
2. Cardboard
3. Packaging
4. Waste
5. Furniture
6. Textiles
7. Fixtures and fittings
8. Electrical insulation
9. Metals
10. Wood
11. Plastics
12. Foam
13. Sealants
14. Structural materials
15. Wall linings
16. Ceiling linings
17. Flooring
18. Cladding
19. Paints
20. Inks
21. Adhesives
22. Cleaning fluids
23. Chemicals
24. Liquids
25. Solvents

Most furniture, fixtures, and fittings are flame-resistant, but not all. It's best to check to make sure. Finishes can deteriorate over time so look for signs of wear and tear.

Never assume that building materials are non-combustible. Structural materials are not easily combustible, but some are covered with layers of cardboard or wallpaper which may spread the fire. There have been cases recently regarding cladding (e.g. Grenfell) acting as a fuel source and quickly spreading the fire.

Flammable chemicals, liquids and solvents need to be stored correctly and used safely to reduce fire risks. Flammable liquids give off vapours that can travel, so careful consideration of the distance from ignition sources is needed.

Oxygen fire hazards

Oxygen is everywhere. We need it to survive, and luckily for us, it's in the air we breathe. But fires also need oxygen to survive, and because it's readily available, it's the hardest type of fire hazard to control.

Knowing where oxygen is readily available, and how it can be stopped, can help prevent fire spread.

1. Open windows
2. Open doors
3. Natural ventilation
4. Air conditioning systems
5. Holes in the structure
6. Oxidising materials
7. Oxygen cylinders
8. Oxygen systems

Not all ventilation is bad. Sometimes, you might need good ventilation to reduce the risk of fire. For example, when storing or using flammable liquids, good ventilation can prevent the build-up of vapour and the creation of a flammable atmosphere.

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This list is just an example. You might find some of these fire hazards in your workplace, or there might be different hazards. Use this list to help you look for fire dangers. You can identify fire hazards through a simple walk around or inspection.

Identify items from each source:

• ignition
• fuel
• oxygen

How do the fire hazards interact with each other? Give particular attention when ignition sources are close to fuel sources. Could they create a fire risk?

And remember that your work and the people in your workplace might introduce fire hazards, so don't forget to think about the type of work that is carried out.

It's easy to just look at an empty work area and forget what happens in it. Especially when an activity might just be carried out once a month, or once a year. What about maintenance or cleaning work? What about work activities carried out by contractors?

Before a new task is carried out, assess if it introduces any new sources of ignition, fuel or oxygen.

• Does it create a fire risk?
• Does it make the atmosphere flammable or unsafe?
• Could it spark a fire?

You can find out more about the types and classes of fire, or carry out a fire risk assessment for your business.