What could go wrong?
Assuming that you have fire alarms, evacuation plans and well-trained staff, everything should go smoothly in an emergency evacuation – right?
Unfortunately, a fire alarm sounding in a workplace often doesn’t actually result in an evacuation!
When a fire alarm sounds, employees often look about to see if it is a real emergency evacuation - or a false alarm. Sometimes people just don’t hear the alarm, or realise what it is.
The key to ensuring a swift and safe fire evacuation is that the right people must take charge, and give building occupants the right information.
This article on the role of communication in fire evacuations from FacilitiesNet struck a chord with the Safety First team!
The best fire emergency plan in the world won't do much good unless people know about it. Both building occupants and facility staff should have copies of the plan, learn the plan and practice the plan. Conducting fire drills and training facilities staff on what to do in case of fire is essential. "People will depend on your staff when there is a fire in your facility," says Jelenewicz. "You can't expect everyone to leave or do the right things."
Read the full article here.
Well Trained Fire Wardens Save Lives
This sounds obvious, but great fire warden training goes beyond ticking a few boxes every 6 months. Your fire wardens should be safety legends who live and breathe safety culture. They should inspire and motivate your staff, and understand fully the reasons for your fire evacuation procedures and what their responsibilities are in a range of scenarios.
Ensure that your Fire Wardens understand how critical their role is in providing speedy, accurate communication in an emergency situation.
Fire System Maintenance, Testing & Drills
Your emergency systems need to be regularly maintained, tested, and fire evacuation drills must be performed correctly.
You can call on Safety First
You know you can rely on us to make sure you have a functional fire evacuation plan in place and well-trained staff. You are welcome to call for safety advice!
But remember – in workplace emergency, communication is key.