Fire safety in commercial buildings is nothing to take lightly. According to the U.S Small Business Association roughly 1 in 4 businesses that experience a fire (or other disaster) will not reopen their doors afterward. Of course having to shut down a business is the last of your worries when the alternative could be as damaging as significant loss of life to customers and employees.
Even if a business does reopen after a fire, it's a long road to get to that point. The building has to be inspected for structural damage while smoke, soot, and water damage must be repaired. This down time is what's crippling for businesses as customers begin to shop elsewhere and employees who need financial reimbursement while out of work start to look for alternate employment.
What all these statements circle back to is that fireproofing your building is extremely important. Fire prevention should be your highest priority, but fireproofing is how you minimize the damage if the sparks do start.
