When seconds count, a clear plan saves lives. Prepare your fire evacuation plan today!

The fire alarm went off on a normal working day, but the employees remained calm. They calmly left their workstations, following their evacuation plan. This is the power of a strong and clear evacuation plan. 

Not to forget, fires can happen without warning and put lives and businesses at stake. However, having a clear and comprehensive fire evacuation plan can save everything.

In this blog, we will discuss the creation of a comprehensive fire evacuation plan and the best way to create one for your workplace.

 

Why Does Every Workplace Need a Fire Evacuation Plan?

Having a well-put fire evacuation plan can save the lives of everyone on the affected property. A well-structured fire plan guarantees compliance with regulations and maintains the business’s continuity by keeping everything safe.

 

Why is a Fire Evacuation Plan Critical For Business Continuity?

Let’s consider two scenarios:

Scenario A: A workplace with 30 employees is set on fire due to a short circuit. The management was active and followed OSHA’s rules. 

Therefore, they already had trained their employees about the evacuation routes and assigned all the roles to responsible people. The people left the building calmly, without panicking, and followed all the set protocols.

Scenario B: A workplace with 30 employees faces fire because they left a pile of papers near the stove. Now, the employees are in panic and confusion, trying to grab their belongings and figure out where to go. 

This happened because the team was not trained, and the management did not have a fire evacuation plan for the business​. This caused a few casualties, both due to fire and panic, and led to more harm to property.

In these scenarios, the difference was only “training” and “having a fire emergency evacuation plan.” This example suggests that knowing how to respond to a fire emergency is vital to knowing precisely what to do and where to go. 

In this way, the situation will be handled quickly, and your business will suffer minimal downtime. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that a fire evacuation plan helps your business to:

• Reduce risk by preventing injuries and damage.
• Avoid fines due to compliance with OSHA regulations
• Limits disruption and financial loss.

 

How Does A Fire Evacuation Plan Ensure Employee Well-Being?

Let’s consider the previously discussed scenarios again. In scenario A, there was minimal damage, while in scenario B, there were casualties and property damage. 

This means that we must understand that a fire evacuation plan is all about protecting lives and keeping everyone safe. A fire evacuation plan gives employees the confidence to evacuate safely during a fire. 

• It tells employees where to go, what to do, and which route to follow.
• Training and drills reduce the confusion among employees.
• The plan considers everyone, including the people with disabilities and the visitors.

 

Does Osha Require A Fire Evacuation Plan?

Yes, OSHA makes it mandatory for all employers to create an evacuation plan for fire or an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) that follows the set standards. 

This plan must not only include procedures for emergencies but also details related to exit routes and all the protocols that need to be followed by the employees.

 

Which Osha Regulation Requires An Employer To Provide Emergency Evacuation Plans?

According to OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.38 regulation, it is the responsibility of employers to create and implement an EAP. This emergency plan must consist of:

• The process of reporting emergencies
• Clear instructions for safe evacuation.
• A system to account for everyone once they have left the building and gathered at the designated safe spot.

It is important to note that if your workplace has more than 10 employees, you must have this plan in writing to make it accessible to everyone.

 

Key Components of an Effective Fire Evacuation Plan

An evacuation plan doesn’t happen on its own. It requires careful consideration of the property layout, the employees and their disabilities (if any), and the legalities involved. 

 

How Do You Create A Fire Evacuation Plan?

Creating a fire evacuation plan shouldn’t have to be overwhelming. You can start with a fire evacuation plan sample. You can adjust that sample in our way according to the regulations and building layout. However, if we are to look at the basic steps of writing a fire evacuation plan, you can consider the following steps:

Step 1

Walk through your building and pinpoint all the exits, high-traffic routes, and areas with potential hazards.

Step 2

According to the layout, map out the best way to get everyone out safely, including backup routes. 

Step 3

Choose a safe assembly point where everyone could meet up after the evacuation.

Step 4

Assign the roles of safety wardens, managers, and communication officers to the responsible individuals who will act as eyes and ears during an emergency.

Step 5

Once you have planned and created everything, the next step is to communicate the plan and perform training and drill sessions to ensure everyone is aware of the routes and plans.

 

What Are The Key Features Of An Evacuation Plan?

A well-planned evacuation plan consists of some key features that are necessary to make sure that the plan is clear for everyone:

The plan must have:

• Marked exits to avoid confusion about where to leave.
• The location of fire safety equipment like fire extinguishers and first aid kits.
• Safe assembly points where everyone would gather after evacuating.
• Quick access to significant phone numbers like the local fire department.

 

What Should Be Located On A Fire Evacuation Plan?

Your evacuation plan is supposed to be a map of the property telling you where to go and what to do:

It should have:

• The floor plans.
• Directional arrows to say to employees where to go.
• Emergency instructions like where to stop and explanation of the symbols used.

 

How Do You Identify Potential Fire Hazards?

Fires often start from unpredictable places and unpreventable issues, and here’s what you have to look for:

• Overloaded sockets or bad wiring.
• Flammable materials are stored incorrectly.
• Equipment blocking the exit routes.

 

Bonus Read: Common Fire Hazards in the Workplace

 

How Do Evacuation Procedures Ensure Safety?

Evacuation procedures are meant to save people at unfortunate times and help them reach a safer place. They are like simple game plans that tell employees when to leave, where to go, how to assist others, and where to meet afterward. 

This whole process ensures that every person reaches the meeting point safely. When these things are a frequent part of the drills, they become second nature.

 

What Are The Roles And Responsibilities During An Evacuation?

It is essential for the smooth conduct of a fire evacuation plan to assign some role to people who can keep things organized. Here are the roles you can assign:

• The fire warden will guide the employees and check the rooms for stragglers.
• A communication officer will keep everyone informed and update the responders.
• The assistant would help people with extra help, like people with disabilities.

 

What Must A Company’s Emergency Action Plan Include?

An Emergency Action Plan (EAP) comes in handy and works well with the fire evacuation plan. If you are not certain about what to include in this plan, you can start with a fire evacuation plan template, or you could include the following things:

• Step-by-step guide on how to report a fire with emergency contact numbers.
• Clear instructions about the exit routes.
• A system for checking that everyone has reached the safety point.
• Assignment of roles and responsibilities to the members.

 

Enhancing Your Fire Evacuation Plan

If you have conducted several drills according to your established evacuation plan, you might have come across some loopholes and disturbances that hinder the smooth flow of the process. That’s where you have to alter your fire evacuation plan for business​.

 

How Do You Plan An Emergency Evacuation For The Workplace?

To plan an operational emergency evacuation plan, you have to first know the property and the floor plans. Once you have understood them, you have to design the plan according to the routes. To know if the evacuation plan will work, you can:

• Conduct regular drills and training.
• Review and update the plan if any changes in the layout occur.
• Take feedback from employees after the drill to address the weaknesses they encountered.

 

What Tools Or Programs Can Be Used To Draw Evacuation Plans?

The best way to draw evacuation plans is to use software like CAD and free online safety tools like SafetyCulture templates that can act as a guide for you to create your plan.

 

How Do You Ensure Accessibility In Evacuation Plans?

Let’s say a colleague of yours has recently met with an accident and has been in crutches for a while. Now during the drill or if the real fire occurs, he will be using crutches to evacuate. 

However, if you have created a plan where such exceptions are not considered, this might cost that person’s life. This implies that accessibility is a crucial part of an evacuation plan.

To ensure that the evacuation plans are accessible to everyone, consider the following enhancements:

• Provide ramps or stair chairs for those who cannot walk without assistance.
• If a person is hearing impaired, consider using flashlights to alarm him.
• If there’s a factor of language barrier, try providing instructions in the primary languages spoken at your workplace.

 

What Should You Do If Fire Safety Equipment Fails?

It is also necessary to check the safety equipment because you never know when they will stop working. In case, during the time of fire, a fire safety equipment fails, here’s how you will have to handle it:

• Keep manual backup systems like horns and flashlights to signal.
• Use megaphones to guide employees.
• Assign someone an immediate action to call the emergency services.

 

How To Create An Emergency Evacuation Map For Your Business?

As we are already aware, a fire evacuation plan is like a treasure map, but instead of gold, we search for safety. Here’s how you can simply create an emergency evacuation map:

• Start with the floor plan and consider using software or a blueprint.
• Mark all primary and secondary exits.
• Use arrows to show the quickest and nearest exit routes.
• Include the locations of fire safety and first aid equipment.
• Assign the roles to people.
• Select safe assembly points.
• When it’s ready, email it to all employees or post it in the hallways and near exits.

Emergency Planning: Exits and Egress Course

Post-Evacuation Best Practices

Once you have evacuated using the fire evacuation plan, now is the time to make sure that all the protocols are followed. 

 

What Is A Fire Emergency Evacuation Checklist?

Let’s see what your fire emergency checklist must include:

• Conduct a roll call to check if anyone’s missing.
• Provide first aid to people who might have gotten injured during the evacuation.
• Share the critical information with the first responders.
• Record timelines, challenges, and feedback from employees.
• Review and update the plan according to the feedback received. 

 

What Are The Steps Of An Evacuation Plan?

Things might get stressful when you are not sure what to do next during an emergency situation. This can be avoided by proper fire safety training, which ensures everyone gets out safely. 

However, you can keep in mind the following steps to ensure everyone’s safety:

• Alert everyone in the building by activating the alarm.
• Help employees to evacuate through designated routes.
• Assist people with disabilities of the visitors.
• Gather at a predetermined safety point outside the building.
• Report to the emergency services as soon as possible and provide all the critical details.

 

Additional Tips for Fire Safety Compliance

Are you still wondering whether your evacuation plan is according to the regulations or not? Let us clear up the confusion by answering your queries.

 

Does NFPA Require Evacuation Maps?

The simple answer is no.

NFPA does not require an evacuation map but it is strongly recommended to have an evacuation map to guide employees towards safe evacuation.

 

When Must An Employer Have A Fire Prevention Plan?

As per OSHA’s regulation 1910.39(b), when a business has ten or more employees, there must be a written evacuation plan. However, if the number of employees is less than ten, you may communicate the plan orally.

 

What Employers Are Required To Have An Emergency Action Plan?

Every business, especially high-risk industries, is required to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) as per OSHA’s regulations.

 

What Are The Critical Elements Of OSHA’s Standard For Evacuation Planning?

OSHA’s regulations and standards are there to ensure workplace safety.  Here’s what are the critical elements of OSHA’s standards for evacuation planning:

• Steps for emergency procedures.
• Clear evacuation routes.
• A system to ensure all employees have evacuated.
• Assigning the specific duties and roles to employees.
• Guidelines for employees performing shutdown procedures.
• Mean and method for alerting employees.
• Regular training and drills for employees

 

Conclusion

A good fire evacuation plan saves both the lives and the business. But preparations aren’t all about plans, but about how you execute a plan.

With Coggno, you can provide your employees with the best kind of training to combat emergency situations. Coggno’s fire safety training empowers your team, so make sure to invest in your people. Start today!