BUILDING EVACUATION DRILLS
Make sure that everyone knows what to do during a fire or other emergency. Practice your evacuation plan until everyone can
do it without direction. Once everyone is competent at the procedure, practice fire and evacuation drills at least twice a year.
- Before
practicing evacuation drills you should establish primary and secondary escape routes. Make a diagram of each floor of your
building and the escape routes. If it is a complex diagram, post the diagram on each floor.
- Install smoke alarms on every floor
and in every sleeping area of the home.
- If you have more than one floor in your home or building, you may need to purchase collapsible
escape ladders for upper story windows.
- Strategically place “A-B-C” type fire extinguishers throughout your home. Teach everyone
how to use them properly. Make sure that they not only know how to operate the fire extinguisher, but also where to point it
and when to use it.
- Designate a meeting area outside of the home for everyone to meet after evacuation.
- Encourage
everyone to always keep their shoes and coats near their bed.
- Place a flashlight in every bedroom and keep them there permanently.
- Teach everyone to check all closed doors for heat before opening them. They should use the back of their hand to feel for heat on the face and around the edges of the door. If the door is hot, they should use their secondary escape route.
When to use the
secondary escape route:
· If a door is hot.
· If the primary route is blocked by fire or heavy smoke.
Drill #1 (Primary Escape Route):
- Start with everyone in their individual
bedrooms, lying in bed with their shoes off.
- To start the drill, press the test button on one of your smoke alarms and yell “Fire
Drill.” Start a timer so that you can gauge improvement.
- Everyone should slip their shoes on, grab their coats and flashlight
and calmly exit the building using their primary escape route.
- People on each floor should yell out to others to verify that they
have heard the alarm.
- Once outside, everyone should meet at the designated area.
- Verify that everyone is safely out of the building.
- Designate
one person to call 9-1-1 (don’t actually call).
- Stop the timer and record the results.
Drill #2 (Secondary Escape Route)
Have several
“hazard” items that represent (a.) fire and (b.) heavy smoke. These can be signs, cardboard boxes, pillows, etc. but everyone
should know which hazard they represent.
- Place one or several of the “hazard” items in strategic locations in the home that block
the primary escape routes.
- Start the drill as in drill #1.
- When faced with heavy smoke or fire blocking the escape route, everyone
should immediately switch to their secondary escape route. If they are on an upper floor and the secondary escape route includes the
use of a ladder, they should deploy the ladder but not actually climb down (this is an unnecessary risk).
Drill #3 (Darkness)
In many cases, home fires are accompanied with power outages. In this case it is necessary to have practiced
getting out of the home without the benefit of light. Smoke can also blind a person during a fire.
- Conduct this drill the
same as drill #1 except everyone must do it with their eyes closed.
- When the alarm sounds, everyone must find their shoes, coats and
flashlights with their eyes closed.
- They must then exit the building by “feeling” their way out.
- Meet outside as in drill #1 and record your time.
Drill #4 (Smoke)
There may be times when heavy smoke is present, and you are forced to move through it. In these cases,
it’s best to crouch very low and crawl out of the building. This should be practiced. Conduct this drill in the same way
as drill #1 except everyone should crawl out of the building.
Drill #5 (Fire Extinguishers)
You may have fire extinguishers strategically
located throughout your home but your family may not immediately know where they are. This simple drill is to ensure that everyone
in the house knows the locations of the fire extinguishers.
- Without warning, tell everyone to immediately move to the nearest
fire extinguisher.
- Practice this drill in all areas of the home until everyone knows where every fire extinguisher is located.
- Simply showing everyone the locations of the fire extinguishers in not sufficient. They must practice moving to them so that they will not forget in a time of stress.
Drill #6 (Saving a Life)
With the presence of a fire, it is possible that someone’s clothing could catch
fire. With a little practice, everyone in the house can learn how to extinguish a clothing fire and save a live.
· If you catch fire, STOP, DROP AND ROLL until the flames are out. Running will only feed the flames. Everyone should practice
the STOP, DROP AND ROLL.
· If someone nearby catches fire, you should grab the nearest
Fire extinguisher yell “get down and roll, get down roll.” Use the fire extinguisher as they roll.
· Also practice using a blanket or coat to extinguish the flames. Roll the person on the floor while you smother the flames with
the coat or blanket. Make sure the coat or blanket does not catch fire.
These drills should be taken seriously, but there
is no reason why they can’t be fun. Very often, the best way for children to learn vitally important information is to make
it fun for them. Invest a few short minutes and you will increase the chances of you and your family’s survival by many times. It is well worth the effort.
