If a fire breaks out your first reaction should always be the safety of yourself and those around you, but as a secondary thought, you may wonder about the devastating cost of fire on your business. Whether your business has an office, a warehouse or anything in between, fire would cause havoc physically and financially. 

Here we talk about the main costs of fire to your business:

• Absence of staff
• Lack of staff productivity
• Structural building damage
• Damage to equipment 
• Document damage

Absence of staff

If your business premises have experienced fire, it is unlikely your staff will be able to return to work straightaway. Depending on how badly damaged the building is, it could take days, weeks or months for their return, all whilst still being paid.

Lack of staff productivity

If you have been lucky and your staff can return to work shortly after the fire, it is likely that morale will be depleted. It is likely potential anxieties would arise due to the fire, in turn decreasing productivity.

Structural building damage

Depending on its size, if a fire breaks out structural damage to your building is a real risk. The foundations of the building could be weakened and a safety risk is then imposed. It is likely the building will need assessment to ensure it is safe to return to work. This will cost your business further.

Damage to equipment

The volume of equipment your business relies on is dependent on the industry you are in. If you operate a business that heavily relies on equipment such as heavy machinery or computers, this will inevitably cost your business more in the event of fire. Once equipment has been damaged by fire, it is more often than not unsalvageable.

Document damage

While equipment is crucial in some businesses, valuable documentation exists in almost every business. If such records are burned in the event of fire, this will cost you time and money to replace them (if they are even replaceable). Documents such as patient records or contracts are often invaluable.

While discussing the most costly repayments in the event of a fire, it is also worth noting the most common causes of such fires to help prevent this in your premises.

The most common causes of fire on business premises are:

• Cooking and kitchen appliances
• Electrical fires such as office equipment
• Smoking indoors
• Heating such as portable fans

You can read more about causes of fire at work here.

Could your business survive a fire?

If a fire broke out in your business could you afford the payments for everything we have discussed so far in this article? As well as other costs such as replacing fire safety equipment and potential insurance costs? The answer to this depends on your individual accounts, however, you can reduce the risk of paying any fire damages by carrying out a fire risk assessment to keep your business and your employees safe.

A fire risk assessment is thorough documentation of every fire risk and notes on whether a risk should be reduced or removed in due course. It also helps employees understand procedures laid out and key evacuation routes. This document helps protect you and your business. 

You can read more about fire risk assessments here.