Evacuation
It's important to hold regular fire drills to
ensure your employees are prepared and know what to do should the
alarm go off.
A UK-wide research survey by global insurer RSA
(formerly Royal Sun Alliance) shows that a quarter of UK workers
surveyed have never carried out a full fire evacuation of their
workplace. This is contrary to government guidance which suggests
that full fire drills are undertaken every year.
Of those businesses questioned:
- one in 20 employees said their workplace had no
marked fire exits at all
- 6% said they would first grab a cup of tea or
coffee on hearing a fire alarm, and then leave the building
- 42% of people would retrieve personal belongings
or work documents before evacuating
- on average, employees waited 36 seconds before
responding to an alarm
Generally, a building should be evacuated in 2.5
minutes. However, one-in-ten workers admitted that, upon hearing
the alarm, they sit at their desks for over 1 minute before
deciding to leave, regardless of whether they believe the alarm to
be due to a real fire or not.
To keep your employees and business safe:
- you should carry out a fire drill at least once
a year
- do not announce fire drills in advance (so you
get a realistic idea of how people react/how effective your
procedures are)
- appoint someone as a fire safety marshal who
will check that areas are evacuated and/or take a role
call/register
Ensure that everyone knows:
- how to raise the alarm if they discover a
fire
- how to contact the fire service
- how and where to evacuate the building
- where to assemble and who to report to
On hearing the alarm:
- immediately evacuate to the assembly point via
the nearest exit
- follow any instructions given by your fire
safety marshal
- do not run
- do not stop to collect personal belongings
- do not open or touch a door beyond which you
have reason to believe there is a fire
- do not use the lift
- do not return to the building until you have
been told it is safe to do so
Additional guidance -
Means of Escape