Safety talks by month
October safety topics for plants and warehouses
October has more confirmed dates than any other month in this library. Fire Prevention Week, Protect Your Hearing Month and the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill all fall here. Each one maps to something a plant already owns: extinguishers, exit signs, hot work permits and a hearing conservation program. Five of the eight talks are about fire.
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Print 30 toolbox talks, one page each
For plants and warehouses, with a sign-in sheet. Free after one short form.
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October dates and observances
Only observances confirmed on the organiser's own page are listed, each with its owner and a link. Where a date moves from year to year, the year is given. Check the source before you print a calendar.
Where the dates fall in October
Fire Prevention Week
The Sunday to Saturday week that holds October 9. October 4 to 10 in 2026.
National Protect Your Hearing Month
All of October
Great ShakeOut earthquake drill
Third Thursday of October. October 15 in 2026 and October 21 in 2027.
Days it can fall onDate set by the organiser each year
Fire Prevention Week
When: The Sunday to Saturday week that holds October 9. October 4 to 10 in 2026.
Who runs it: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA has sponsored it since 1922. A good week for the monthly extinguisher check.
National Protect Your Hearing Month
When: All of October
Who runs it: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Pairs with the yearly hearing conservation training.
Source for National Protect Your Hearing Month (opens in a new tab)
Great ShakeOut earthquake drill
When: Third Thursday of October. October 15 in 2026 and October 21 in 2027.
Who runs it: Great ShakeOut organisers (shakeout.org)
The organisers say a site can hold its drill on any day that suits it.
Source for Great ShakeOut earthquake drill (opens in a new tab)
8 safety talks for October
Each talk gives the hazard, words a supervisor can say at the start of a shift, one question to put to the crew, and the rule or guidance it rests on. Say it in your own words and wait for an answer to the question.
1. Can you reach the extinguisher
The hazard: Pallets and carts drift in front of extinguishers one at a time. OSHA requires portable extinguishers to be mounted, located and identified so they are readily accessible.
What to say: Walk to your nearest extinguisher now. If you had to move anything to touch it, that thing gets a new home today.
Ask the crew: Which extinguisher in this area is hardest to get to?
2. The monthly extinguisher look
The hazard: An extinguisher with no pressure looks fine from across the aisle. OSHA requires portable extinguishers to be visually inspected monthly and to have a maintenance check every year.
What to say: The monthly look takes a minute: in its place, pin and seal intact, gauge in the green, no damage, tag initialled. Tell me if you find one that fails.
Ask the crew: When was the tag on your nearest extinguisher last initialled?
3. Exit signs you can see
The hazard: Racking, banners and stacked product hide exit signs. OSHA requires the line of sight to an exit sign to be clearly visible at all times, and each sign to be lit to at least five foot-candles.
What to say: Stand where you work and find an exit sign without moving. If you cannot, something is in the way or a sign is missing. Report unlit signs the day you see them.
Ask the crew: From your station, which exit sign can you see?
4. How we report a fire here
The hazard: People lose time deciding whether to fight, shout or phone. OSHA requires an emergency action plan to set out the procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency.
What to say: Here it is in order: pull the nearest alarm, call the number on the board, tell a supervisor. Reporting comes before anything else you do.
Ask the crew: Where is the nearest pull station to where you are standing?
5. Fire watch after the torch is off
The hazard: A spark can smoulder in a corner after the welder has packed up. Where a fire watch is required, OSHA requires it to continue for at least a half hour after welding or cutting is finished.
What to say: If you are the fire watch, you stay for the full half hour and you have an extinguisher in reach. That is your only job until the time is up.
Ask the crew: Who was the fire watch on the last hot work job here?
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iii)(B) (opens in a new tab)
6. Noise and the 85 decibel line
The hazard: People get used to a loud area and stop reaching for protection. OSHA requires a hearing conservation program when exposure reaches an 8-hour average of 85 decibels, with hearing protectors provided at no cost.
What to say: In the posted areas, protection goes in before you walk in, every time. It costs you nothing. Ask me for a different type if yours does not fit.
Ask the crew: Where in the plant do you have to shout to be heard?
7. Hearing training, once a year
The hazard: Earplugs get handed out once and never mentioned again. OSHA requires hearing conservation training to be repeated every year for each employee in the program.
What to say: Take a new pair and fit them the way the instructions on the pack show. Your neighbour checks yours, then you swap. The full yearly session is booked for this month.
Ask the crew: Who showed you how to fit an earplug, and when?
8. Drop, cover and hold on
The hazard: The instinct in an earthquake is to run for the door. The ShakeOut guidance is to drop onto hands and knees and cover the head and neck. Get under a sturdy table or desk if one is near, and hold on until the shaking stops.
What to say: Do not run. If there is no table near you, get down next to an interior wall and cover your head and neck. Stay there until the shaking stops.
Ask the crew: What is above or beside your station that could fall on you?
Source: Great ShakeOut, Drop, Cover, and Hold On (opens in a new tab)
A week-by-week plan for October
One way to spread the talks over the month. It is an example order, so move a talk when your own shutdown, weather or shift pattern says it belongs in a different week.
| Week | Talks | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Fire Prevention Week. Do the monthly check with the crew watching. | |
| Week 2 | Keep the fire theme going while it is fresh. | |
| Week 3 | ShakeOut falls on the third Thursday. Run the drill, then cover hot work. | |
| Week 4 | Protect Your Hearing Month. Time it with the yearly training. |
Safety topics for every month
The year by month, with the hazards each month's talks are built around. For talks sorted by length and by workplace, go to the safety topics library.
The year in safety talks
Guides that go with these talks
FAQ
October safety topics, answered
It is the Sunday to Saturday week that holds October 9. In 2026 that is October 4 to 10. NFPA has sponsored the week since 1922.
OSHA requires a visual inspection every month and a maintenance check every year for portable extinguishers in the workplace.
No. The official day is the third Thursday of October, but the organisers say you can hold your drill on any day that works for your site.
Print 30 toolbox talks, one page each
For plants and warehouses, with a sign-in sheet. Free after one short form.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
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