How to protect yourself against arson in the workplace

According to the Fire Prevention Bureau, arson is the leading cause of workplace fires.¹  This means if you own or manage a business, you are at risk for being the victim of arson.

What is arson?

Wikipedia defines arson as “the crime of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to buildings, wildland areas, dumpsters, vehicles or other property with the intent to cause damage.”²

Because arson is the main cause of fires in the workplace, setting up precautions against arson should be a high priority in protecting not only the building itself, but also employees, customers and tenants.

How to protect your business from arson

Protecting your business from arson involves two strategy stages:

1.  Early detection of the arsonist
Your first line of defense against arson is to detect the arsonist as soon as he nears your building.  This can be done with outdoor perimeter protection.  Smart technology can alert you of the arsonist’s presence.  Motion detectors, video cameras, security fences equipped with vibration sensors and glass break sensors will let you know that someone is threatening the premises.

Once you are aware of the criminal’s presence, you or your monitoring service can alert local authorities and help can be sent immediately.

You also have the option of alerting the arsonist that his presence has been detected.  Using automatic security lights, sirens and even voice recordings to let the arsonist know he has triggered an intelligent security system might scare him off before he can do damage to your building.

2.  Rapid detection of the fire

If the arsonist does start a fire at your business, you need to know as soon as possible. And this is true whether a fire starts from arson or from another cause. The sooner you know that a fire has started, the sooner the fire can be contained with as little damage to your property as possible.

Make sure your business has top-quality smoke detectors, heat detectors and an addressable fire system.  And addressable system ensures that once a fire starts, your system can tell you exactly where the fire is located so it can be contained quickly and efficiently.

At Best Security Products, we specialize in Honeywell fire systems and can help you protect yourself against arson. Give us a call or email us at 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com.  

^{1 http://www.poudre-fire.org/home/showdocument?id=86
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arson}