Fire Drill - Seculogix Ltd

What is a fire drill and what are the procedures ?

Fire drills are for more than fires. Knowing the evacuation routes of a building will help in the event of a power outage, gas or chemical leak, or other emergency situation that can occur at the office. Fire drills ensure that employees exit the building in a timely fashion and know their team’s designated meeting area, which helps the rescue effort in the event an employee in unaccounted for during an actual emergency at the business.

Here is the procedures of fire drill:

Step 1

Create a safety committee. The committee should include at least one representative of each department of the business, and the group should name one representative from each department as the team leader. The team leader is responsible for ensuring his team evacuates the building, and he must meet team members at a predetermined location outside the building.

Step 2

Provide evacuation information to all employees before drills begin. Employees must know the evacuation path for their work area, and the alternative paths in the event an exit is blocked. Create evacuation signs and post them throughout the building. Employees should also receive information on how to report a fire and use a fire extinguisher, as well as whom to contact in an emergency.

Step 3

Develop several fire drill scenarios to assist with evacuation preparedness. Have employees stand in front of different exits holding signs that state “Exit blocked — choose an alternative route.” This will make your employees aware of the different exit routes from the building and make the the employees think about what could happen in a real emergency.

Step 4

Conduct regular fire drills, but don’t overdo it. For initial training purposes, hold drills every two weeks for a short period of time. After the training period, a fire drill every three months is sufficient. Holding drills more frequently can cause your employees to become complacent, and some might refuse to participate. It is also hard to hold a surprise fire drill if they are too frequent.