- Published on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Preparing for a fire is an important part of small business safety procedures. Fires can occur anytime, anywhere, and can spread very fast once they start. Having a business plan for fire evacuation is the best way to ensure a swift response in the event of a fire. For small businesses, an efficient way to execute this safety goal is to put together an emergency action plan. This will highlight specific issues at your place of work that apply to everyone in the workspace. These include building layout, alarm and emergency systems, and structural features that are important to recognize during a fire.
Part of implementing a successful and thorough emergency action plan is making sure that all of the employees understand their role in the event of a fire. During a fire everything can become chaotic very quickly and people will panic. This results in more injuries and can compromise evacuation times. One essential part of fire evacuation is knowing all exit points, what the most efficient route to safety is, and how to properly evacuate. Rehearsing and following these steps will help improve response and exit times during an actual fire.
A sometimes overlooked part of a fire evacuation plan is reporting the fire and understanding how to operate a fire extinguisher under stress. Reviewing where the fire alarms are located in the building as well as extinguishers will increase the odds of getting out, possibly extinguishing the fire, and notifying the fire department. Everyone in the building should also understand how to engage and operate a fire extinguisher in the event of a small fire.
After evacuation, a method of accounting for everyone is needed to ensure that everyone in the building is safe. Having designation people to assist in evacuation and headcounts is an important part of the fire evacuation plan. Often these people will be responsible for checking the building once everyone has evacuated. Doing a final sweep of offices and bathrooms and shutting doors before exiting the building is a good measure for small business evacuation procedures. In severe cases where this is not possible, the evacuation assistants should first ensure everyone else exits appropriately and then immediately leave themselves.
Thoroughly planning and reviewing an emergency fire evacuation plan with everyone in the office can save lives and increase emergency response times to prevent further property damage from the fire. When everyone understands the procedure and their role, emergency situations can become much more manageable.
Daniel's DKI disaster cleanup and restoration services the following areas:
| Coahella Valley
| Palm Desert