Kiwis are by all accounts a laid back nation, and this is often seen to be true when fire alarms are furiously wailing and people stand around, hoping it’s all a mistake. The problem is obviously that sometimes the fire alarm is sounding because there actually is a fire.
Lack of coordinated action during an evacuation endangers lives
Slow fire evacuations put lives at risk – other occupants, the fire fighters, and your own.
So, it’s essential that all occupiers respond quickly to a fire emergency and evacuate the building to the nominated place of safety – which is the assembly point(s) nominated in your evacuation plan.
Usually NZFS available personnel on immediate arrival at a fire emergency are a driver, an officer in charge and two officers who are charged with the investigate of the building and risk assess the fire situation. It stands to reason that if everyone is out of the building safely, the fire service can attend to that very, very important thing - which is fighting the fire!
Office fires move swiftly – effective evacuation plans are essential
A fire began after normal business hours in the BDO Building (Takapuna, Auckland) and quickly created dramatic damage to an office on an upper level. These photos from Stuff.co.nz show the impact of a fire in a corporate building.
It was very fortunate that this fire occurred outside of normal trading hours and the building was largely empty of people. In recognising this the building owner has been extremely proactive, organising additional training and trial evacuations to ensure that the building wardens are well versed in running safe evacuations, and tenants are ready to react correctly.
What can you do to ensure safe fire evacuations?
Safety First can help with creating Fire Evacuation Procedures, training your wardens and providing expert advice. It is essential that your staff and or tenants are well informed and nurture a culture of taking evacuations very seriously.
Our Safety First Fire Evacuation team are always ready to talk about your business or property. Give us a call!