Know the Facts about Business Fires

9/2/2020 (Permalink)

According to the U.S. Small Business Administrations, as many as one in four businesses that suffer some kind of major disaster do not reopen afterward. It's true, overcoming a major loss is extremely difficult, but with the right restoration company and team on your side, working hand-in-hand with your insurance company, the chance of surviving is pretty high! 

Here are some stats from the NFPA:

Time of Day

Peak time of day for office fires:Noon-2p.m. (a.k.a. lunch time!)

69% happened between 7 a.m.  and 7 p.m.

The 31% that occurred between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. caused 67% of recorded property damage, because they went undetected longer.  This also highlights the need for automatic detection equipment and working sprinkler systems. 

19% of fires happened on weekends

Cause of the Business Fires

29% were caused by cooking equipment.  However, just 6% of these fires caused actual damage.  

Intentionally-set fires caused the most direct property damage -21%

Electrical equipment is the second leading cause of office fires.

Just 2% of office fires start in a concealed space, like an attic, in the ceiling, or in another concealed space. However, these fires accounted for 13% of the direct property damage. 

Containment & Putting it Out

4 of of 5 fires were confined to the room of origin

90% of fires were large enough to activate sprinklers, which were effective 88% of the time.

Deaths per 1,000 stores were 62% lower in offices equipped with sprinklers comped to those without.

Industrial/Manufacturing Facility Fires 

The NFPA also has statistics specific to manufacturing facilities. According to their research, there are about 37,000 fires at industrial or manufacturing facilities each year, resulting in 18 deaths, 279 injuries, and 1 billion in property damage. Heating equipment and stop tools were the leading cause-sparking 28 percent of the fires.  Mechanical failure or malfunction caused 24 percent of the fires.

SERVPRO of Vicksburg & Yazoo can help you get back to business, faster. If you have a Commercial Fire Loss we will work with you and your insurance and get you back in business.