🚨 The Fire Safety Mistakes Every Contractor Needs to Know

With October being here and fire prevention month, it's time to talk about it. It's time to put a focus on it in your organization, whether you own a business or you're a technician out there. Welcome back to another episode of the Tradepreneur Show. Listen, as tradespeople, we spend our day surrounded by things that can start a fire. Electricity, gas, welding and cutting equipment, heat producing equipment, flammable materials like dust and debris, temporary power, especially extension cords.

And why am I speaking about this now? It's October. It's fire prevention month. What we should be looking for when we're on a job site, when we're in a customer's home, not just for our... own work safety, such as, are you brazing? And do you have a fire extinguisher within reach? Do you have a fire watch? Do you need a fire watch? What is a fire watch? Most fires aren't some dramatic explosion like in the movies.

So this is really about developing a fire prevention mindset because it's the little things, the tiny things that usually can cause the biggest disasters, the things that get ignored. a damaged extension cord, or using the wrong size extension cord for the power you need, battery charging in the wrong place. In fact, this year, the focus from the NFPA, National Fire Protection Association, is on lithium batteries, believe it or not. The goal, catch the problem before it becomes an emergency, before something happens. As tradespeople, we have an advantage. We understand how things are built.

We see how things go together. We know what's behind the cabinets. We know what's inside. We know where heat, electricity, fuel, and combustible materials intersect. And we have these devices in people's homes. So the same knowledge that makes someone good at their trade can make them excellent at identifying risks. It's all about the right mindset. It's a safety mindset, but we're specifically talking about fire because we always think a fire won't happen to us.

And guess what it does? I remember when I was younger, I got to tour Governor's Island. Governor's Island is one of the largest Coast Guard bases. It is in New York City, and you have to take a ferry to it. While I was on that island touring, the USS Dallas. had extensive damage caused by fire. How did the fire start? Damage control technician welding without fire watch. Started a fire and he had no fire watch and destroyed several decks of that ship.

It happens. So we need to have that mindset when we're in somebody's home. We got to have that mindset. We have to be safety conscious. With October being here and fire prevention, month it's time to talk about it it's time to put a focus on it in your organization whether you own a business or you're a technician out there looking for the failure before the failure happens that is not only important for you in your day -to -day jobs but it's also important for when you go into a customer's home running a business or running your truck as a technician means you're responsible for more than your own work.

You're responsible for your coworkers, your employees, customers, property, equipment, your equipment, the company's equipment, and the homeowner or customer's equipment. Your reputation and your ability to keep operating one preventable incident can affect all of these things, all of them. They can shut you down, cost you revenue, most importantly, cost a life. We have... a obligation when we go into a customer's home or building to look for the potential points of failure, the things that can cause harm. I always say our technicians have to look for three things, and in this order, issues of safety, issues of comfort, and issues of efficiency.

So when we go into a home, that's what we got to look for, safety first. So in recognition of October Fire Prevention Awareness Month, Let's talk about some of the things that we as technicians, I don't care what trade you're in, can be looking for that even fall outside of maybe your specific trade. What do I mean? Well, maybe you're an HVAC technician. You're going to do a heating maintenance or you're on a service call for air conditioning.

You can look at the breaker box. You know enough to know if something's wrong. You can tell if something is plugged into a circuit it shouldn't be. How many times if you're HVAC, have you seen somebody plugging? additional things into an outlet that should be a dedicated circuit for the furnace. I remember I went to a call late one night. It was in the summer, and there was a pool party going on. Everybody's having a good time, but the air conditioning wasn't working.

So I traced it back to an issue with the blower motor and the furnace, and it was an upflow in an exterior closet. They had an extension. cord plugged into the outlet that the furnace was plugged into. That was what was playing their music. The outlet was coming out of the wall, and the outlet was arcing, and you could see the burn marks. And I told him, you cannot plug anything into this. You've got to plug this in somewhere else.

And this is a bigger issue. This is an issue with your electrical wiring that powers this furnace. But it was. amazing to me that they had this extension cord plugged in and it was arcing now maybe it wasn't arcing when they plugged it in and maybe the outlet came loose from i don't know them plugging it in and maybe yanking on the cord or something but it was an issue and they were so having such a good time they didn't even notice it that was something that you as a technician needs to call attention to. Now, maybe it's not nighttime. Maybe it's not a party.

Maybe you're there for HVAC. Maybe you're there for plumbing. Maybe you're there to fix the roof. And you see them using extension cords in manners that shouldn't be used. You have a responsibility to let them know that that's a safety issue, that that's a fire hazard. Because guess what? When do fires start? And I'm telling you, as a former volunteer firefighter, A lot of fires start when people are asleep.

Which brings me to item number two on my list. Let's make October the month that we offer our clients, if we're not already doing so, to change the batteries in their smoke detectors. Let's make it the month that we make sure they have carbon monoxide detectors installed. And let's at the very least ask our clients if we could test their smoke detectors for them. And here's the opportunity. You ever see those smoke detectors?

I'm going to answer for you. Yes, you have. That are yellow, aged. Smoke detector is good for about 10 years. Now is an opportunity to upgrade their smoke detectors for them. In fact, they have smoke detectors that have built -in carbon monoxide detectors. Now, I know somebody say, well, carbon monoxide has to be hung in a different level. Well, okay, great. Offer them one of those as well. They have super advanced smoke detectors that can detect. slow burning or smoldering type fires.

So great opportunity to bring attention to a homeowner. Smoke detectors are a simple thing to take care of. Also, it's a great time for you to check that you have a fire extinguisher on your truck that has been tested and certified within the year. So it's current. It'd be a great time for you to talk to your customers, make sure they have a smoke detector. in their kitchen. Make sure they have one in their garage.

Are you fire marshal Bill? No, you're not fire marshal Bill, but you are a technician going into a home that has a responsibility to inform and educate the homeowner, especially when it comes to issues of safety. All right. So this is a great time of year to be focused on that. Take the opportunities to inform and educate homeowners, but also there's opportunity. for you to make some money offering services that the rest of the time of year you may not think about.

You should be thinking about it. Every time you go into a home, you should be having these conversations, right? Because it is a safety issue and you should be looking for these things every time you go into the home. However, it doesn't always happen, especially when you're running service calls and it's hot outside or it's cold outside and you've been running a long day. We have the time, especially in October, make it a point to do so.

And I will tell you, Take what you do in October and make it part of your regular routine when you go into the home. And if you're a business owner, have this conversation with your technicians. Set the expectation for what you want them to do. Also, as a business owner, make sure your team knows how to use a fire extinguisher. Funny, I know. However, I can't tell you the amount of car fires I've been to or house fires where the people have attempted to extinguish with a fire extinguisher.

And you can tell where all the powder chemical is that they don't really know what they were doing, especially an engine compartment fire. Now, I know you're like, what is he talking about, an engine compartment fire? I don't know about you, but I've seen service trucks catch on fire, and it usually starts in the engine compartment. So I'm not asking you to make your techs firefighters, but I will tell you, just like on that ship, the USS Dallas, the Coast Guard cutter, and on every ship, everyone. is a firefighter. Everyone has to know how to respond to a fire.

So all I'm saying is just make sure all the fire extinguishers in your building are current. Make sure all the fire extinguishers in your truck are current. And make sure everybody knows how to use a fire extinguisher. It seems simple. The instructions are very simple. You ever read the instructions on a fire extinguisher? Pull pin. Aim at fire. Squeeze lever. Something like that. Tricky part. Where do you aim at the fire?

I think it does say the base of the fire. But let them know, teach them on what fire extinguishers should be used for what. Yeah, I know. You're saying, Patrick, we know that. Like this is kindergarten stuff. Well, I don't know if you've been to school lately, but there's a lot of stuff they don't teach anymore. I asked my kids if they remembered the Alamo. They had no idea what I was talking about.

They're like, I think I remember something. Like we talked maybe something. I'm like, wait a minute. The Alamo, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Jim Bowie, every man. fought until their death against Santana, Ana, the Mexican general? Yes, I do history too. So help everybody know what fire extinguisher to put out because you don't want your tech to be the guy that pulls the water canister on an electrical fire.

Although I will tell you in the fire department, we could open a spray onto power lines and you didn't have any issue with it. But I digress. The whole concept here. is a safety mindset, in particular, fire safety mindset. Not just for you as a technician, not just for you as a business owner, but for you going into a customer's home as a technician, using this as an opportunity to educate the homeowner, offer them some upgrades that can help them. I will tell you one upgrade that we offer in California.

And you can offer this anywhere because guess what? Earthquakes happen anywhere. They're more prone in California, right? What's really cool, I will tell you something. I'm going to go sideways here for a minute. You can actually drive along Interstate 10 out here and look off to the distance and you'll see a bunch of trees growing, pine trees. That's water that comes up right along where San Andreas Fault goes.

It's pretty cool. Anyways, earthquakes are real. I believe the statistic is one in four house fires in an earthquake result from broken gas lines. So we offer a gas shutoff valve that goes in the meter that when there's a tremor, you should all be familiar with this, but maybe you're not. Maybe you're in the Great Plains and don't get earthquakes. Anyways, it shuts the gas off at the home. Even if you have a mild earthquake and maybe just something breaks or comes loose, it doesn't spew gas into the home.

So it's a good safety device to have. Here's another thing you should do in your building and especially in your home. So we used to have shows like the Brady Bunch that taught us this, and we used to discuss it. But I don't really hear it anymore. Make sure everybody in your home knows how to exit a building. Now you're going to be like, okay, Patrick, I'm on the sofa. The house catches on fire. I go out the door where the fire isn't.

Okay, that's great. Simple, huh? What about when your house is on fire at 2 in the morning? Does your family know not to open the door to check for heat? Do they know alternate exits? Because at 2 in the morning, especially if you have children, they're not going to be thinking clearly. So make sure you practice that. It sounds funny, doesn't it? It sounds funny to have fire drills in your home. When I worked at Paoli Memorial Hospital, I was in charge of doing fire drills.

And so we would literally call the fire department, say, this is a fire drill. Don't dispatch. And I'd go pull a fire alarm. It was really fun to do. I worked the night shift. I'd pull them at change of shift. And I remember one of the supervisors chewed me out. because this is a fire drill and this is, we have this to do and we have that to do. And you're doing a fire drill this time. I said, Hey baby, I didn't say that.

But I said, listen, fires aren't going to happen when it's convenient for us. They're going to happen when we're most unprepared. And so we're going to train for the times when we're most unprepared or what's most inconvenient. And this actually, this, this made it all the way to the higher ups in the hospital and they, They actually said, Patrick, good job. Good job standing up to that supervisor.

A supervisor in a hospital is in charge of everything, basically, at night. And I want to back down on it. And they backed my side because they totally agreed. How can you not agree, right? But the point is, have a safety drill. Make sure everybody knows how to exit. I will also share this with you. Have a bigger plan. What do I mean by a bigger plan? Okay, let's say California. California, I got my wife working across town.

My daughter works one place. My other daughter works another place. My son works for me. He's out in the field somewhere. I got another daughter in school. There's an earthquake. Cell coverage goes down. Let's say it's a pretty severe earthquake. Or maybe it's not a severe earthquake, but communication's down. How do you know everybody's safe? Is there a meeting point? Is there another communication method? perhaps smoke signals.

Then you're going to have to make sure everybody has matches, wood, and a blanket. And watch his Looney Tunes so they can see how they do smoke signals. Trust me. Watch the episodes. You'll see. Anyways, have a way to get in touch. And look, it doesn't have to be earthquakes. There's tornadoes. There's hurricanes. There's other things that happen. Gas lines explode in cities, right? I'm not trying to be a doomer.

But I'm just telling you, these are the things we don't think about. So this is the opportunity for this episode to really say to you, have that safety mindset, have that fire prevention mindset, and use this month to adopt that mindset and carry it into your business, carry it into your family life. Make sure they are the same way, all right? And at the same time, there's opportunity to make money. Because there were upgrades available.

The biggest ones, gas shutoff valves, carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, and at the very least, offer to test the detector, offer to change the batteries. Because October, we should be changing the batteries, right? Every October, change the batteries. And if you miss the October date, then it's when we fall back, change the batteries. With that said, it's another episode of The Tradepreneur.

Until next time, be great and win the day. The Tradepreneur Show is brought to you by Patrick Somers. Executive production by David Field Producer. Producing and editing by David Field and Kristen George. Original theme song, Blue Collar Working Man, written by Patrick Somers, created using Suno AI. To be a guest on The Tradepreneur Show or for sponsorship and partnership opportunities, contact Patrick Somers.

Patrick at... thetradepreneurshow .com.