Fire drills are critical for ensuring the safety of the staff, students, residents, and clientele that enter your business, building or property. Practicing scheduled fire drills will help ensure individuals have the knowledge to safely escape a fire without injuring themselves or others.
- Supervisory staff is to monitor the evacuation process and note any of the following:
- Are individuals closing the doors upon exiting rooms?
- Are individuals remaining calm and proceeding toward the nearest exit?
- Are individuals assembling at the designated muster point?
- Are fire wardens (if applicable) ensuring the safe evacuation of all individuals?
- Are all individuals being accounted for (if applicable)?
- Are exits guarded to prevent re-entry into the building?
Advantages of a Fire Drill
1) Knowing the evacuation route
Knowing the evacuation routes of a building will help in the event of a fire, power outage, gas or chemical leak, or other emergency situation. It ensures that people exit the building in a timely fashion and know the designated assembly area.
2) Testing of procedures
Fire drills are an opportunity to practice evacuation procedures to make sure all involved are familiar with them. Fire drills are also useful for testing escape routes to evaluate their effectiveness.
3) Alarm systems and equipment working
Checks can be carried out on fire alarm systems and other equipment to ensure that they are in working condition and that emergency exits are unobstructed.
4) Enable quick and safe escape
The purpose of a fire drill is so that everyone in the building is aware of how to get out of the building in the quickest and safest way possible if a fire were to oc
5) Demonstrate efficiency
Fire drill serves as an opportunity to demonstrate, under simulated fire conditions, that they can perform those duties and responsibilities safely and efficiently.
6) Avoid panic and injury
Knowing the fire drill procedures will not cause panic and will avoid potential injuries in a rush to exit a building.
Responding to the Fire Alarm
- Stay calm.
- Treat the alert as if it were a real fire.
- Stop what you’re doing.
- Start moving out of the building.
- Do not Close your door.
- Leave the lights on.
Making Your Way Through the Building
- Move to the nearest exit.
- Check doors for heat.
- Take the stairs.
- Watch for “smoke” signs.
- Clear the sidewalks.
- Move to a safe distance.
- Wait for the all-clear.
After the Fire Drill
- Record the total evacuation time in the evacuation checklist report.
- Silence the alarms, reset the manual pull station and reset the fire alarm system.
- Ensure the fire alarm system is back to normal operating condition.
- Inform individuals that they can re-enter the building.
- Contact the fire alarm monitoring company and RES dispatch to advise that the fire drill is complete.
- Re-evaluate any concerns that arose during the fire drill and discuss as a group (ex. safety meeting).
Keep a record of the fire drill and any notes on the evacuation checklist report
