What Safety Experts Should Prioritize in Fire Safety Outreach This Year
Lithium-ion battery hazards, hands-on extinguisher practice and recurring storage and hot work violations deserve attention for the rest of 2026.
- By Steve Lockwood
- Oct 27, 2026
Fire safety outreach for the rest of the year should start with the mindset that workplace fire risks are changing faster than many organizations can adapt. Lithium-ion batteries are commonplace and introduce new workplace hazards that many facilities aren't ready for. At the same time, old problems such as improper storage, weak hot work controls and poorly planned emergency procedures are still showing up in safety audits. This year, fire safety training should move beyond generic reminders and focus more on outreach. In 2026, show people the practical risks that cause preventable fires and teach them how to avoid those risky activities. These are the main points fire safety experts need to focus on for the rest of the year.
Lithium-ion batteries must be a fire safety focus
If fire safety experts want to make the biggest impact before the end of the year, they should focus on the prevalence of lithium-ion batteries in the workplace. What was once a niche concern is now commonplace. Lithium-ion batteries are in everything from laptops and cellphones to power tools, scooters, e-bikes, facility equipment and electric vehicles. They are in every workplace, from a corporate office to a construction job site. They are everywhere, and fire safety training has not caught up to their prevalence.
That makes outreach important. Safety pros should be asking employers simple but necessary questions. Is there a designated charging area? Where are batteries stored and charged? What happens to damaged batteries? Is the workspace stocked with the right fire extinguishers?
Stu Kemppainen, safety expert and managing partner of a workplace training company, Workplace Safety Specialists, urges firms to take the fire risk of lithium-ion batteries more seriously.
"Facilities are treating lithium-ion battery-powered equipment like any other device, and they are not," Kemppainen said. "Charging areas need to be selected carefully. Storage practices should be reviewed, and disposal procedures should be clear."
Battery use is growing, so education on preventing battery fires needs to be more prevalent.
Show what a hazard looks like
One of the most effective outreach methods is showing what a battery fire really looks like. Employees hear that lithium-ion batteries are dangerous, but many have never seen battery failure or how fast a fire can escalate.
"Firms should work with safety experts, local fire departments and fire safety specialists to actually demonstrate a fire safety hazard," Kemppainen stresses. "Show workers the heat, smoke and chemical discharge intensity of a battery fire in a controlled environment. When people see this, they understand the importance of preventing these fires."
Show them how intense battery fires can be and remind them that these batteries exist in almost every part of an office or job site. They need to know they are woven into daily operations and part of regular devices. When employees don't understand the danger, they are more likely to charge, store and dispose of batteries unsafely.
More hands-on training
Fire safety outreach needs to be more practical. Workers assume they know how to use fire extinguishers, but many actually don't. Most people are less prepared for a fire than they think.
Hands-on training is the best way to improve readiness. For example, employees should be put in front of a live fire and required to select and operate the proper fire extinguisher. You can use a burn barrel, propane fire pan or other devices and mechanisms, but give your employees experience putting out real flames in a controlled environment. Hands-on training builds a level of understanding that classroom lectures alone can't.
Hands-on training also exposes the common problem of overconfidence. Many workplace extinguishers use the wrong propellant or aren't large enough to extinguish even a small fire. Many employees think they can respond to fire emergencies in real time, and live-fire exercises show them they can't. Training can help them improve their real-life response time.
Focus on recurring violations
Fire safety experts should not overlook the issues that commonly show up after audits. A critical, recurring violation is improper storage around sprinkler systems. Boxes and other items are stacked too high and close to sprinkler heads.
These issues are often framed as housekeeping problems and dismissed, but they can reduce the effectiveness of your fire protection systems. The same applies to improper storage of flammable and combustible materials. Other frequent, preventable hazards include missing flammable storage cabinets and flammable liquids stored near combustible materials.
Hot work deserves more scrutiny. When welding or cutting occurs, the risk doesn't end when the work stops. A proper fire watch must remain in place to monitor for smoldering materials, hidden ignition or delayed flare-ups. These issues are often treated casually when they should be treated as essential.
The main issue is that many organizations believe they are better prepared for a fire than they are. They have fire safety equipment and an emergency action plan, but they haven't tested either in years, and gaps are widespread. The evacuation point you created 10 years ago doesn't work after the office remodel. Employees were never taught how to respond to a battery fire. Supervisors may assume a fire watch is happening without having a proper assignment process.
Fire safety experts should focus on filling in those practical gaps the rest of the year. The goal should be to make potential risk more visible. Conduct training in a hands-on and realistic way, ultimately making responses more effective.