When people think of fire safety equipment, they often think of fire alarms and extinguishers and very little else.  However, in reality, there's so much more that you can and should do to protect employees from hazardous conditions.  Here are just a few examples of things that your business should have readily available in the unfortunate event of a fire.

Fire Blanket

These blankets are designed to be placed over smaller fires to prevent the flow of oxygen and put out the flames.  Of course, these are only suitable for very contained fires, but like fire extinguishers, they are still extremely useful to have on hand in case of an emergency, perhaps helping to contain a difficult and dangerous situation before it spirals out of control.  Best of all, this is equipment that requires no training to use; any employee will be capable of deploying it in case of a fire.

Flame Retardant Workwear

Any protective equipment that you supply to your employees – such as helmets, boots or gloves – should be resistant to flame.  Do not assume that all equipment meets this standard automatically; unless it is expressly marketed as such, safety gear is unlikely to be fire resistant.  It may seem like an unwelcome expense, especially if your employees don't usually work around any fire hazards, but it's a cost that's absolutely worth paying for safety purposes.

Escape Ladders

This may not be necessary for all workspaces, but if your employees are working in a confined space, particularly below ground level, then you should be sure to provide them with an escape ladder.  In the event of an emergency, this can be used to more quickly evacuate the affected area.  Usefully, these are also quite compact and easy to store, so they are not inconvenient to have in compact workspaces either.

Of course, it doesn't stop there; there are many kinds of safety equipment that you can purchase to lower your workplace's risk of fire-related incidents.  However, having these items to hand forms a good baseline to get you started, and to rekindle your company's ongoing conversation about fire safety.  In fact, bringing in this new equipment may be a good time to discuss and go over your policies for what to do during a fire.  After all, all this equipment is vital, but it means significantly less if your employees are unsure of how to act during this kind of emergency.