What to Do Immediately After There Is a Fire in Your Office Building

[This article was written by Anica Oaks.]

Considering all of the emergencies that can happen in an office building, fire is one of the worst. Fires big and small can cause widespread damage that can cause serious disruptions to your business. In order to overcome these disruptions quickly, it’s important to begin certain tasks as soon as you can so that you can get the ball rolling toward recovery.

Determine the Condition of Employees

If employees were present at the time the fire occurred, it’s important to understand their conditions as soon as it is safe to do so. In addition to simply being the right thing to do, taking this step will help you prepare for any potential insurance repercussions that may happen as a result of the fire. If one or more employees have been seriously injured, understanding their conditions will also help you plan for future personnel needs.

Begin Restoration

While you may be able to obtain temporary office space, your company works most efficiently when everyone is on their home turf. Therefore, it’s important to call in commercial restoration experts as soon as the fire has been extinguished. Starting this process quickly will allow the restoration experts to begin their work before further damage can occur due to exposure to the elements. Plus, starting quickly will help shrink the timeline until you can return to the building.

Determine a Cause

It is likely that at least one investigator will be assigned to your business to determine the cause of the fire. It’s important that you work closely with this investigator to provide them with any necessary information to help them arrive at an accurate conclusion. Ultimately, determining the cause of the fire will determine what type of insurance compensation you receive, which could greatly affect your company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Inspect What’s Left

Even in a serious fire, there may be salvageable assets left that can help your company save money during the rebuilding process. Therefore, as soon as it’s safe, it’s important to tour your facility to find any assets that will need to be stored offsite to protect them from the natural elements and theft. If you can’t enter the building yourself, try to secure the building as best you can so that everything stays safe until the building is deemed safe to enter.

Seeing your company’s facility go up in flames can be quite humbling and overwhelming. If you work hard, though, there’s a good chance that your company will be able to make it through this difficult time successfully. Therefore, even when times get tough, don’t allow yourself to despair. Instead, keep pushing forward with a positive attitude until you finally arrive at the finish line.