![\"Stairwell](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/stairwell.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn the instance of a fire, a quick and safe evacuation of everyone in the building is of the utmost importance. Fire and smoke spread fast, and could leave people trapped in dangerous, inescapable locations if an evacuation plan is not in place. But as an employer, owner, manager, landlord, or occupier of a business or other non-domestic premises, you will ensure that no one is ever put in that position by preparing an effective and tested evacuation plan. You are known as the \u2018responsible person\u2019.<\/p>\n
As the responsible person, you must make arrangements for the event of a fire emergency \u2013 namely, an evacuation plan. When producing this, you must consider various factors relating to your workplace and the people within it, and one of the first steps to accomplish this is carrying out a fire risk assessment of your premises.<\/p>\n
Doing so simply involves observing your workplace, identifying the risks, determining who may be harmed, implementing new safety measures in light of your findings, and reviewing and updating it on a regular basis. Once you have assessed the premises in this way, you can begin to consider what you need to include in your emergency plan.<\/p>\n
If you have five or more employees, you must record your findings and your emergency plan.<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You should make the following arrangements when preparing your fire safety evacuation plan:<\/p>\n
Implementing all of these evacuation arrangements will ensure that people exit the building as quickly as possible, in an orderly fashion, and do so safely.<\/p>\n
![\"expert](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/expert-tip-icon.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/div>\nTake a look at our Health and Safety course library<\/a> where you’ll find everything from Fire Safety Training<\/a> to Fire Warden Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That depends entirely upon the size and nature of your premises and the people within it. Generally speaking, there will be aspects of fire evacuation that apply to almost all premises, such as having designated persons taking responsibility during the event of a fire (fire wardens).<\/p>\n One thing that you must remember about fires is that they spread incredibly quickly, uncontrollably, and erratically. What appeared to be a clear exit two minutes ago could suddenly become completely inaccessible.<\/p>\n Part of the fire warden or marshal\u2019s duty is scouting the escape route; they must determine that it is safe and free of smoke and\/or fire before leading people onto it.<\/b><\/p>\n For example, if the warden or marshal identifies that a doorknob is hot or a stairwell is rapidly filling with smoke, they must lead employees to another route. It is their duty to make sure no one is attempting to use an escape route that has been compromised in terms of safety.<\/p>\n This will be the evacuation process that most premises can use, particularly those that are not very big and don\u2019t have many floors. It involves everyone exiting the building, in response to the warning signal given when a fire has been discovered, by walking through the escape routes in a calm and orderly fashion.<\/p>\n In buildings that are larger than most, more complex in terms of layout, and have multiple floors, a vertical phased evacuation will allow those who are at a more immediate risk to evacuate the premises first and temporary delay those who are not. It may be appropriate in these circumstances to start evacuating only the area closest to the fire and tell others to stand by.<\/p>\n Evacuation of the floor where the fire is situated would be done first and foremost, as well as the floor above it. Evacuating higher levels quickly is essential; people could become trapped as the fire continues to spread upwards.<\/p>\n Where a vertical phased evacuation strategy is required, the fire warning systems should be capable of emitting two distinctly different signals <\/strong>(warning and evacuation) or delivering voice messages.<\/p>\n A horizontal phased evacuation may be required in premises like hospitals and care homes, where fire resistant compartments are available or where treatment can continue to be delivered until the fire has been dealt with.<\/p>\n Both vertical and horizontal evacuations take time and are risky, so additional fire precautions may be required. This includes voice alarm systems, fire control points, compartmentation of the premises (using fire-resistant construction in certain areas), or having sprinklers in the building where appropriate.<\/p>\n There will be some cases where setting off a general alarm for immediate evacuation is not appropriate, such as in cinemas and theatres. This is due to the mass of people present and the need for staff to put pre-arranged plans for safe evacuation into action; overcrowding will disrupt the safe and effective evacuation of everyone in the premises.<\/p>\n In these circumstances, a \u2018silent\u2019 staff alarm should be given that only they are aware of (through the use of fire records, personal pagers, discreet sounders, or a coded phrase on a public address system, for example), which will alert them to conduct a phased evacuation and set off a more general alarm signal when ready. A general alarm may be activated automatically if manual initiation has not taken place within a pre-determined time.<\/p>\n There will be special circumstances which require the occupants of the building to stay put and allow the fire brigade to extinguish the fire. This is particularly true of hospitals or nursing homes, where patients may be confined to their beds, are immobile, or are on life support.<\/p>\n Temporary relocation may take place if possible, but in the case of patients who are connected to life support and cannot be moved, a decision would have to be made about which option is best: stay or move. Because of how high-risk this strategy is, you should only plan to use it if you have sought the advice of a competent person and the fire\/rescue services.<\/p>\n Regardless of what strategy you decide to follow, you must always consider the individual needs of those with vulnerabilities, such as those who are confined to wheelchairs, who are hard of hearing or deaf, or are visually impaired or blind. A specially-tailored plan should be made for them where required, which is known as a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP).<\/p>\n A PEEP should ensure that those with vulnerabilities receive assistance from the point of raising the fire alarm to passing through the final exit of the building.<\/p>\n It can be useful for those who may require a PEEP in your workplace to fill in an Emergency Evacuation Assessment form (and to receive assistance if they are visually impaired or blind). This will enable you to make whatever particular arrangements are required for a person with disabilities so that they can evacuate safely in the instance of a fire.<\/p>\n When you discover a fire and are evacuating, keep these things in mind so that your and others\u2019 safety aren\u2019t compromised.<\/p>\n Remember: <\/strong>an evacuation procedure cannot be considered reliable unless you have determined that it works in practice. Carry out a fire drill to make sure that it is effective and everyone is fully familiar with what it entails. In doing so, you will guarantee that you\u2019re fully prepared for the worst and that everyone is kept safe.<\/p>\n Expert advice and guidance on building a fire safety evacuation plan for your business. Covering PEEPs, types of evacuation & your responsibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[90,91],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-safety","tag-fire-safety","tag-safety-management"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\n![\"Worker](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Inspecting-extinguishers.jpg\")
<\/p>\nYour evacuation plan must show that you have:<\/h3>\n
\n
\nWhat\u2019s the Best Fire Evacuation Strategy?<\/h2>\n
There are four types of fire evacuation strategies:<\/h3>\n
\n
1. Simultaneous Evacuation<\/h4>\n
![\"Fire](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/office-fire-evacuation.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2. Vertical or Horizontal Phased Evacuation<\/h4>\n
3. Staff Alarm Evacuation (Silent Alarm)<\/h4>\n
4. Defend In Place<\/h4>\n
\nWhat About People With Disabilities?<\/h2>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/wheelchair-wheel.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat Should a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan Cover?<\/h3>\n
It will cover every aspect of emergency evacuation, including:<\/h4>\n
\n
\nThe Dos and Don\u2019ts of Fire Evacuation<\/h2>\n
Do<\/h3>\n
\n
Don’t<\/h3>\n
\n
\nFurther Resources:<\/h3>\n
\n