Emergency evacuations occur more frequently than one would assume, and one may be required following a fire, flood, weather emergency, or the release of a harmful substance into space. There is a high amount of variability in how much time one has to exit a building during a disaster, therefore knowing what to do ahead of time can save valuable minutes, or even seconds.
Prior to forming an evacuation plan, you should perform a site safety evaluation in order to determine any possible risk that could prevent a safe exit or exacerbate the dangerous situation, and find solutions to all identified risks. After the site safety evaluation is complete, you are ready to create an exit plan.
Step 1: Do a full assessment of a space, whether it be an office, parking lot, construction site, or hallway. All risks should already be taken care of in the site safety evaluation, so in this step, you are looking for obstacles that could slow down an exit or could potentially cause harm to an individual when they are moving quickly and not paying close attention to their surroundings.
Step 2: After obstacles are identified, specific routes can be made that will lead a person to safety. Multiple routes are required, as unexpectedly a path may be blocked, overcrowded, or less efficient from where a person is attempting to exit from. It is highly likely your business has a floor plan already drawn out, so it will be helpful to mark each route directly on a floor plan for visualization and to remember.
Step 3: Create evacuation plans for employees who have special jobs. If someone is operating machinery that can not be stopped at any moment, it is necessary to have a separate plan to ensure safety for that individual and all who are exiting the building. There should also be an emergency evacuation plan for individuals with special needs.
Step 4: Add to the evaluation plan should be any steps employees should take on the way out in various situations. It should be clearly noted if they should close windows, turn off equipment, and shut doors behind them.
Step 5: Construct a procedure for all employees once they have exited the site of danger and include a method of tracking exactly who is there. There should be a predesignated site for people to meet up and gather post evacuation for purposes of accounting for all employees. This is important to make sure everyone was able to get to safety.
Step 6: Make a list of emergency contacts. This should list include:
- Fire Department
- Police Department
- Ambulance Service
- Hospital
- Poison Control
- Alarm Company
- Natural Gas Service
- Electricity
- Water Service
- Insurance Company Claims Hotline
Other things to think about when making an emergency exit plan include
- Rescue and medical training for employees
- A comprehensive description of the buildings alarm system and any alarms that notify employees of a need for evacuation
- Location of an alternative communication device in the case of a fire, explosion, or other damage to the communication device
There are so many steps in building an emergency exit/evacuation plan that the best thing you can do to keep your employees safe is sought help from a professional. With over 20 years of experience in the Boston Fire and Police Departments, no one is better suited to design an emergency exit plan for your business.
Take the initiative today and contact info@evansbrothersconsulting.com or call 617-545-1500 to set up a short, no-cost, preliminary discussion.
No one knows Boston like the Evans Brothers.