Fire Evacuation Procedures in the Workplace

Fire Action Signs & Staff Fire Notices

A fire action sign should be posted in prominent places for small premises, informing employees and relevant parties about the necessary procedures to follow in the event of a fire.

A staff fire notice is required for high-risk situations or large buildings. A more thorough emergency evacuation plan needs to be developed, taking into account the findings of the fire risk assessment, such as the presence of personnel at risk and their position. In addition, prominent notices should be posted that provide clear and concise instructions on how to proceed in the event of a fire.

In some situations, you should designate individuals to carry out the fire action plan and give them adequate training in fire fighting and emergency evacuation procedures. When appropriate, the following factors should be considered:

Fire Evacuation Strategy

You must consider how you would evacuate the premises in light of your risk assessment and any other fire precautions that you have or intend to put in place. There are multiple evacuation strategies including:

• Simultaneous evacuation is the process of evacuating everyone from the premises at the same time. This may be appropriate where there is a low risk of fire and/or where staff are familiar with the emergency evacuation plan.
• Vertical phased evacuation is a strategy that involves the orderly and safe evacuation of people from a building or site. It is most commonly used in multi-story buildings, where it is not possible or practical to evacuate all people at the same time. In this type of evacuation, people are evacuated in stages, with those on higher floors leaving first and those on lower floors leaving last.

Action After Hearing the Fire Alarm

When an emergency occurs, it is the responsibility of everyone to immediately sound the closest fire alarm. In the event of a fire, the strategy should describe how to raise the alarm.

All employees should be instructed in the FEEP strategy, and if a fire warden’s plan is in effect, they should go to specified locations to assist customers and personnel to depart the building via the quickest safe route after hearing the alarm.

Unless they are part of a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, lifts and escalators should not be used due to the possibility of electrical failure.

With the exception of the fire services, personnel should not re-enter the building.

Calling the Fire Brigade

The Fire Department should be notified right away, either by a switchboard operator or a witness to the fire, depending on these circumstances:

• Work Time – The emergency evacuation plan should be well-known by the switchboard operator, as well as any necessary extensions that must be switched through when the switchboard is unattended.
• Other Times – Remaining staff (cleaners, caretakers, etc.) should also be familiar with the process. In any case, the most senior official should ensure that the Fire Service is notified.

Identification of Key Escape Routes

Emergency escape routes should be marked in locations where members of the general public or persons who are unfamiliar with the premises’ layout are likely to congregate. Schematic drawings, emergency escape routes, and exit signs may be used to identify these routes.

Assembly Points

Personnel should assemble at a predetermined assembly point. Predetermined assembly locations should be established, and a roll call of employees must be taken. The person in charge of the assembly point should report to the fire service liaison person, who will record whether everyone has been accounted for or whose missing and where they were last seen.

Fire evacuation procedures are incredibly important in the event of a fire to prevent the loss of life or potential injuries. They should be planned carefully and implemented to ensure that employees and other personnel have the greatest chance of exiting the inflamed building.

At Ark Fire Protection, we install the necessary fire signage to your premises and can upgrade your compartmentation efforts, however, there are other specialists that can aid you in producing fire assessments and evacuation procedures.

Other precautions must also be put in place to provide maximum fire protection for a workplace building such as passive fire protection measures. Protection such as fire doors and fire rated partitions are just a couple of the services we provide here at Ark Fire Protection to contain the spread of fire and maximise safety in the workplace.