You built it. Your team depends on it. Let’s protect it.

A business fire reaches far beyond the building. It can interrupt paychecks, displace customers, and put years of hard work at risk.

For Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District, business fire safety is about protecting the people and places that keep our community working. From neighborhood shops and restaurants to warehouses and industrial facilities, every workplace needs clear exits, maintained fire protection systems, and employees who know how to respond.

Fire safety belongs in the daily routine, not just on inspection day.

Keep Every Exit Ready

When people need to leave, nothing should stand in their way.

Walk through your business as if you were a customer visiting for the first time. Could you recognize the exits? Reach them without moving anything? Continue to safety once outside?

• Keep exit routes clear of merchandise, deliveries, furniture, and equipment.
• Make sure required exit doors can be opened from inside as designed whenever the building is occupied.
• Keep exit signs visible and emergency lighting operational.
• Do not prop open fire doors or disable closing and latching devices.
• Keep exterior exit landings and pathways clear.
• Maintain the approved occupant load and required aisle arrangements.

“We’ll move it later” is never a good plan for a blocked exit.

Train Your People Before the Alarm Sounds

A plan only works when everyone understands it.

Employees should know how to report an emergency, where to go, and what they are expected to do. That includes temporary staff, new hires, and people working evenings or weekends.

Your workplace emergency plan should address:

• Reporting a fire and activating the alarm.
• Primary and alternate evacuation routes.
• An outdoor assembly location away from responding apparatus.
• Accounting for employees and helping customers, visitors, and contractors evacuate.
• Assistance for people who may need help.
• Any specialized duties assigned to appropriately trained personnel.
• Who will meet firefighters and share information about missing people or hazards.

Review the plan when employees start work and whenever conditions or responsibilities change. Practice it across all shifts.

Do not assume someone else explained the plan. Make sure your team knows it.

Fire Protection Systems Are Part of Doing Business

An installed system needs to remain a working system.

Fire alarms, sprinklers, kitchen suppression systems, and fire doors are essential parts of a building’s protection. They need inspection, testing, maintenance, and timely repairs.

• Use qualified service providers and follow the required service schedules.
• Keep inspection and maintenance records available.
• Address deficiencies promptly.
• Keep alarm panels, sprinkler controls, and other equipment accessible.
• Maintain required clearance around sprinkler heads and above stored materials.
• Never paint sprinkler heads, hang items from sprinkler piping, or alter systems without proper review.
• Establish the required notification and protective procedures before a system is taken out of service.

If a protection system is impaired, contact the District promptly. Do not assume the building can continue operating normally.

Decide Now: Evacuate or Use an Extinguisher?

Employees should never have to guess.

Make your extinguisher policy clear. Are all employees expected to evacuate, or are designated employees trained and authorized to address a small, early-stage fire?

Provide the education and training required for that policy. Keep the correct extinguishers accessible, mounted, inspected, and serviced.

Even a trained employee needs a clear escape route and safe conditions. If fire or smoke is spreading, the correct action is to leave.

No inventory, machine, or business record is worth a person’s life.

Control the Fuel. Control the Ignition.

Good housekeeping is a daily fire safety measure.

Look beyond the public areas. Check stockrooms, loading areas, maintenance spaces, and places where waste collects.

• Remove combustible waste before it accumulates.
• Keep storage away from heaters and other ignition sources.
• Maintain access to electrical panels and mechanical equipment.
• Store flammable liquids and other hazardous materials in appropriate locations and containers.
• Keep incompatible materials separated.
• Follow the applicable procedures for oily rags and other process waste.
• Assign responsibility for cleanup and correcting reported hazards.

A clean sales floor does not make up for a hazardous stockroom. Check the whole business.

Don’t Work Around an Electrical Problem

Find the cause. Correct the hazard.

A breaker that repeatedly trips, an outlet that becomes hot, or equipment with a damaged cord needs attention.

• Remove damaged equipment from service.
• Have electrical problems evaluated by a qualified electrician.
• Use extension cords only for appropriate temporary purposes.
• Do not connect power strips together or exceed their ratings.
• Plug portable heaters directly into suitable wall outlets.
• Keep electrical working spaces clear.
• Do not bypass protective devices or improvise wiring repairs.

Repeatedly resetting the breaker is not a repair.

Match Your Precautions to Your Operation

Different work creates different hazards.

A restaurant kitchen, repair shop, warehouse, and office do not have the same fire safety needs. Make sure your procedures address what actually happens in your building.

Commercial cooking: Maintain cooking equipment, exhaust systems, and required suppression equipment. Keep grease buildup under control and train staff on emergency procedures.

Welding, cutting, and grinding: Follow applicable hot-work requirements. Control sparks and slag, protect surrounding combustibles, and provide required fire watches.

Storage and warehousing: Review changes to storage height, rack arrangements, and stored commodities before making them. These changes can affect sprinkler protection and access.

Batteries, chemicals, and compressed gases: Use appropriate storage, charging, handling, and disposal procedures. Review new materials or processes before introducing them.

If your operation changes, your fire protection needs may change with it.

Leave Room for Our Response

We need to find the building and reach the problem.

Keep your address visible from the approach to your business. Maintain clear access to:

• Fire lanes and apparatus access roads.
• Hydrants and fire department connections.
• Building entrances and designated emergency access points.
• Fire protection system controls and equipment.

Make sure emergency contact information stays current, including someone who can respond after hours and explain the property’s operations.

A parked vehicle or storage pile can become a serious obstacle during an emergency.

Talk With Us Before You Make Changes

Build fire safety into the project from the beginning.

Opening a business, remodeling, changing tenants, adding equipment, or rearranging storage can affect more than the floor plan.

Contact Umatilla Fire and the appropriate building or permitting authority early to discuss changes involving:

• Building use or occupancy.
• Exits, doors, and interior layouts.
• Occupant loads and assembly areas.
• Fire alarm or suppression systems.
• Hazardous materials or new industrial processes.
• Commercial cooking equipment.
• Storage racks, heights, and commodities.

Ask before you purchase, install, or occupy. Early coordination helps identify the requirements that apply to your project.

When There Is a Fire, People Come First

Follow your emergency plan. Alert others, activate the alarm where provided, and evacuate.

Call 911 from a safe location. Provide the business name, address, nature of the emergency, and any known hazards or missing people.

At the assembly location, account for your team. Tell firefighters what you know. Keep access clear and do not reenter until authorized.

Do not send someone back inside to check a room, retrieve belongings, or finish shutting down equipment.

Make the Safety Check Part of the Shift

Before opening, during shift changes, and before closing, check the conditions that matter:

☐ Exits and pathways are clear.
☐ Exit doors and fire doors function properly.
☐ Fire protection equipment is accessible.
☐ Waste and storage are controlled.
☐ Equipment problems are reported and addressed.
☐ Staff understand their emergency responsibilities.

Give employees permission to stop and report unsafe conditions—and make sure concerns lead to action.

Protecting Business Is Protecting Umatilla

Your business provides jobs, services, and a place people rely on. We want it to remain part of this community for years to come.

Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District encourages business owners, property managers, and employees to make prevention a shared responsibility. Ask questions. Maintain your systems. Train your team. Correct hazards while they are still manageable.

Protect the people behind your business. Protect what you have built. Keep Umatilla working.