Planning your Fire Escape Route

Having an effective fire escape route can save your life in an emergency situation. Your escape from a fire shouldn’t be left down to chance, especially when planning your fire escape route is such a simple process. Being prepared if a fire breaks out will enable you to stay calm and guide others to safety so see below for the top life saving tips on fire evacuation safety.

Plan

There should be one or two designated fire officers who are responsible for the fire safety at your establishment and it’s their responsibility to plan a fire escape route. If there isn’t a dedicated fire officer where you work or if they need extra training then many specialist fire prevention companies offer fire risk assessment training.

If you are a fire officer, this doesn’t mean that you should solely take on the process though as gathering information from the other people who use the building will leave you better equipped to plan the best route for everyone. Consider where people are distributed throughout the building and ask them where they spend most of their time.

For example, a member of the team may have a designated desk but actually spend most of their time in a filing room which would need to be taken into account in your plan. If there are people with disabilities, small children or elderly people who use the premises then you should make sure that they also have a safe escape route from the building.

The Fire Escape Route

When you plan your route it’s important to make sure it’s realistic. You may think that the people who use the building can lower themselves to safety out of a first floor window but in an emergency situation would flames or panic prevent people from doing this? Once you have the most practical route for everyone you need to tell the whole team so everyone who works in the building knows what to do if a fire breaks out.

You should also implement a backup plan in case the escape route becomes blocked. Either plan a secondary fire escape route or have a designated low fire risk room with a phone in which people will be safe in while they wait for help.

Get Help

Whenever possible the fire brigade should be called before a fire gets out of hand. This isn’t always possible though, especially in larger premises where a fire could have been burning for a while before someone notices. Inform your team that whoever spots the fire should sound the alarm and call the fire brigade.

If people are trapped in a room with the fire outside the door then they should open the window and shout for help so they draw attention to themselves.

Fire evacuation safety is the key to reducing the risk of injury or worse if a fire breaks out. Don’t forget to make sure that your fire safety officer has adequate fire risk assessment training.

FIRECREST UK LTD are willing to help with all aspects of fire safety within your company – please feel free to contact us for advice and assistance.

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