How to Speed up Your Fire Evacuation Process

It is often the case that people react too slowly to a fire alarm. So what can you do to ensure your staff evacuate quickly and safely?

Firstly, time it takes to escape in the event of a fire can be divided into 3 stages:

1: Recognition by staff that the alarm sounding is a warning of fire.

2: The time taken to begin the evacuation.

3: The time for staff to fully evacuate and reach a place of safety.

Secondly, fire alarm sirens cannot be solely relied upon to prompt people to move to a place of safety. The behaviour of others can significantly impact the time it takes to safely evacuate everyone. With this in mind here are our tips to speed up your fire evacuation process:

1. Train your employees on your emergency procedures. If your staff know what to do in an emergency then it will help speed up the evacuation.

2. Use safety acronyms such as CALM to help staff remember what to do in an emergency:

C: Calmly leave your desk, don’t panic or run.

A: Attend to anyone that needs help, for example someone in a wheelchair.

L: Leave the workplace using the emergency exits.

M: Move away to the designated safety area once outside.

3. Create evacuation teams. For example, appoint a fire warden in each department to work together to evacuate everyone safely. It’s recommended     that 30% of your staff should be trained as fire wardens and these people should take the lead during an emergency situation and be aware of fire risks and fire safety equipment at all times.

4. Ensure there is a clear pathway to your emergency exits. If there are obstacles blocking your exits it will slow down the evacuation process.

Do you need fire safety training for your staff? Assured offer fire safety awareness courses and fire warden training courses, which take place on your premises causing minimal disruption to business.

Please give us a call on 0845 402 3045 if you require more information, or email us and we’ll be happy to help.