When flooding from a hurricane or other natural disaster causes property damage, people are primarily worried about the immediate aftermath, which includes replacing furniture, dealing with insurance claims, and so on. Meanwhile, mold is growing on surfaces inside the building, both in plain sight and hidden from view.

As the world gradually returns to pre-pandemic activities, more restaurants are opening their doors. Service ranges from delivery and take-out only to full indoor seating options, especially in the colder months. With more people sharing spaces in restaurants, it’s more important than ever to maintain safe food spaces. Having a restaurant sanitation checklist will help ensure that your team is doing all it can to keep employees and patrons safe.

Firefighters rely on turnout gear to protect them from heat, smoke, flames, and other potential hazards, including toxic chemicals. Turnout gear—which is essentially all of the PPE worn to a fire scene—includes helmets, gloves, pants, jackets, boots, and any clothing worn underneath. Turnout gear has evolved over the years as the role of firefighters continues to expand and new information has been uncovered through research. Technological developments in materials also contribute to new trends in fire turnout gear. Whatever the kit includes, when it’s exposed to the fireground, it is potentially contaminated and should be treated before returning to the station. 

The global pandemic has brought new awareness to sanitation practices across virtually all industries, but especially those where individuals interact in shared spaces such as schools, restaurants, fitness facilities, and healthcare facilities. Sanitation in the hotel industry has always been of paramount importance, but increased risk of illness has brought it to a new level over the past year. As people start to travel more in the coming months and years, hotel sanitation will continue to be more important than ever.

When disaster strikes, the short- and long-term effects can be devastating for businesses. In the short term, lost revenue and the inability to stay open present challenges for both owners and employees. In the long term, the investment required for rehabilitating damaged buildings can be overwhelming, even when insurance covers some costs. At the community level, the aftermath of a hurricane or other natural disaster can lead to disease and economic devastation.  

As more restaurants reopen for dine-in service, customers are paying attention to the measures being taken to protect both employees and themselves. Restaurant sanitation has always been important from a food safety perspective. Now, restaurant managers and employees must also take additional steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Training is a key component of any type of disaster response, including contamination threats. Responders need to know how to use both the equipment and the decontamination chemicals before deploying their skills in the field. Of course, training scenarios don’t use real chemical or biological contaminants, so it’s not necessary to use the actual decontamination chemicals when learning and practicing.

The carcinogens that firefighters are exposed to present a serious health risk. A NIOSH study found that firefighters had a higher number of cancer diagnoses and related deaths. Because of this, researchers have recommended training and use of protective equipment during all stages of a fire to help reduce the health risks.