Causes Of Fire Damage In Commercial Buildings

11/1/2019 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO of Northwest Columbus if you experience fire damage at your commercial property.

Fires in commercial buildings can happen very quickly, especially if there is no one on site to access the problem. What starts out as a small fire can instantly turn into something larger, and cause significantly more damage than expected. Commercial fires are more common than you think; by taking proper precautions you can help prevent damage to your property.

1. Cooking Equipment. Restaurants come first to mind when you think of buildings with cooking equipment. In commercial kitchens there are high cooking temperatures, flammable oils and grease, and an overall hectic nature.

• 65% of fires are in healthcare facilities
• 61% in restaurants
• 38% in educational facilities
• 29% in office buildings
• 13% in stores and mercantile properties

2. Heating Equipment. Depending on the climate your property is in, commercial buildings require heat to stay comfortable for several months out of the year. Furnaces, boilers, radiators, and other mechanical equipment can overheat leading to a fire.

• 14% of fires in industrial or manufacturing buildings
• 11% in office buildings
• 9% in restaurants
• 5% in healthcare facilities

3. Electrical And Lighting Equipment. Most buildings have electrical wiring behind the wall for light and power. Electricity is a fire risk. A fire can ignite due to old or defective wiring, overloaded circuits, loose connections, faulty fuses, imbalanced electrical loads, and many other electrical or lightning problems.

• 12% of fires in office buildings
• 10% in stores and mercantile properties
• 9% in restaurants
• 5% in healthcare buildings

4. Smoking Materials. If disposed of improperly, lighted cigarettes, cigars and other smoking materials can start a fire. A cigarette burning on the ground can easily catch the mulch on fire, and then slowly catching the building on fire.

• 9% of fires in office buildings
• 7% in restaurants
• 5% in healthcare facilities