When you think about it, those of us who work and live in New York City are some of the luckiest people on the planet. Right at our doorstep, we have the finest restaurants, the best entertainment, and some of the most spectacular tourist attractions in the entire world. However, while we are fortunate to live and work where we do, there are certain challenges that come with being part of an urban area. One of those challenges, in particular, is fire prevention and safety. Today we are going to discuss some of those challenges and how they affect us as New Yorkers.
So we are all on the same page, when we're talking about an urban area, we mean a geographical space with a population of at least 250,000. Well, all 5 boroughs of New York City exceed that by a huge margin, with 19.5 million people living here. With this many people in such a small amount of real estate, there are significant obstacles that need to be overcome to ensure the safety of all the inhabitants, especially regarding fire safety. Some of these are an increase in elderly residents, those who have disabilities, the immigrant population in addition to those who live in poverty.
When a fire department serves an urban area like New York City, there are certain challenges that they must face in dealing with fire prevention and safety as well. High crime rates, dealing with city bureaucracies, communication in multi-cultural neighborhoods, limited resources, and helping residents and business owners realize the importance of practicing fire safety are just a few of the many hurdles the FDNY faces.
The statistics regarding fire occurrences in urban areas reveal some interesting insights. First, when you compare cities to other localities, there's a higher occurrence of intentional fires and arson. Also, electrical equipment is also the main cause of fires in urban areas, especially if it is an older city that hasn't been fully updated. These factors also present some unique challenges for urban areas.
A task force is a great starting point to increase fire education and prevention in city locations. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), if a community task force begins to discuss and implement the following 5 Es, it can greatly impact a community:
1. Education regarding fire safety and prevention
2. Enforcement of legislation and fines for non-compliance
3. Engineering of new technologies and products
4. Effective emergency response and training
5. Economic incentives including both fines, tax credits, and free installations
These 5 strategies can go a long way in making a community, especially in urban areas, safer from the threat of fire. Each one of those elements has a ripple effect in providing a better protected city.
If you're a business owner, you might be wondering what you can do personally to help with fire protection. One thing you can do is to make sure your staff and employees are well-versed in fire safety practices and see that you have followed all the mandated requirements set forth by the FDNY for businesses. One of these items would include flameproofing services. Flameproofing can actually save lives in the event of a fire, by providing valuable escape time for anyone in the building as well as buying time for the FDNY to arrive. By having fire-resistant curtains, drapes, carpets and other decorative items, you are seeing to it that those items will not contribute to the spread and severity of a fire. This can significantly reduce loss of life and property as well as keep the fire from spreading to the surrounding buildings and neighborhoods.
At Certified Flameproofing, we take our role very seriously when it comes to protecting our city from fire. By all of us working together, we can see that a city like ours, with inherent challenges to fire safety, is protected as possible. If you need flameproofing services or have questions about fire safety, we are here to help. Our knowledgeable staff can answer any of your questions, and we can also provide you with a free, no-obligation quote. Call us today. We'd love to hear from you: 800-590-5530.