Classify the workplace or its areas
NOM-002-STPS-2010 applies to Mexican workplaces. Employers must classify fire risk under its normative appendix and may do so by areas such as plants, buildings or floors. The distinction between ordinary and high risk determines specific duties. The fire risk entry explains the general hazard; this standard defines Mexican prevention arrangements. Classification should not be inferred solely from the name of the economic activity or an informal description of the business.
Match plans to actual conditions
The workplace needs an updated sketch, plan or map identifying risks, equipment, detection systems, evacuation routes and other relevant elements. It must be displayed at appropriate access, circulation or assembly locations. Safety instructions are communicated to workers, contractors and visitors as applicable. When storage moves or an exit changes, information must match the new layout; retaining an old drawing may direct people toward a route that can no longer be used safely.
Plans, brigades and drills
The standard requires a fire-emergency response plan. Workplaces classified as high risk must have fire brigades under the specified requirements. Drills are required at least once a year for ordinary-risk workplaces and at least twice a year for high-risk workplaces. These frequencies belong to this Mexican standard and should not be presented as universal rules. Exercise planning and results need recording, followed by examination of difficulties and necessary improvements to arrangements.
Suitable training and resources
An annual theoretical and practical training programme is required. Brigade preparation and equipment should correspond to roles and scenarios; attendance at a briefing does not give everyone intervention capability. Equipment, system and route checks should connect with maintenance. Protective resources are selected according to risk and technical requirements rather than floor area alone or by copying equipment provided at a different establishment with different materials and operating conditions.
Example: increasing stored materials
A business increases its quantity of combustible material. Before retaining its former classification and plan, it reviews inventory, affected areas and consequences for protection and response. Documentation should reflect the decision and measures implemented. Occupational compliance needs coordination with civil-protection and other applicable rules; possession of a document issued by one authority does not automatically discharge the remaining obligations for the workplace as it actually operates.
