Tracy Haas Depa

Do you work in a high-rise office building? Maybe you’ll be visiting one for an upcoming meeting. Either way, you need to know what to do if the fire alarm sounds.

Safety+Health spoke with Melissa Black, president of consulting firm MsR3 LLC and an adjunct professor in occupational safety and health at Orange Beach, AL-based Columbia Southern University, to get her thoughts on what’s new in the fall protection field, how workers can avoid misuse and how workers can best stay safe.

Properly working, easily accessible emergency eyewashes and showers are vital to on-the-job safety. That’s because “the first 10 to 15 seconds after exposure to a hazardous substance, especially a corrosive substance, are critical,” the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety states. “Delaying treatment, even for a few seconds, may cause serious injury.”