Each year, tons of companies get affected by lack of fire protection. Remember, workplace fire can happen anytime, and usually big buildings create a significant risk to everyone. Thus, the perfect way to ensure employees and staff safety are to have a clearly defined fire evacuation plan. It helps everyone navigate on the right path with confidence to escape fire safety. Let’s explore how fire evacuation plan plays a vital role in keeping business safe.
What is Fire Evacuation Plan?
A fire evacuation plan specifies clear steps to do to handle sudden fires at the workplace. The main objective is to prevent severe injuries, fatalities, equipment, and building damage.
Importance of Fire Evacuation Plan for Business
In a fire emergency, the employees and staff members need to know how to respond fast and understand their respective responsibilities. Make the plan clear and concise fire emergency plan so that everyone knows how and when to reply and stay safe. It’s the best idea to offer proper documentation outlining employees responsible for flammable materials, heat-producing equipment, and fire hazards.
Required by Law
OSHA requires every employee and employer to have an emergency fire evacuation plan on file and must include all the procedures in detail for evacuation. In fact, As per NFPA, every workplace should have an exit diagram (plan) installed on their premises, and everyone should be well familiar with it.
Any agency with more than ten employees needs a written copy of the fire evacuation plan posted so that it’s clearly visible to the staff and other members in the case of any emergency situation.
Clear Chain of Command
During a fire emergency, usually, people run and want to get out of the building as soon as possible. But as you know, this increases the chances of property damage and risk of chaos, confusion, and injury. So as a business tycoon, you must ensure that your staff has active leaders that can co-ordinate vital tasks and supervise fire evacuation.
Tip: Hire one fire safety warden for every group of 20 visitors or employees.
Safe Meeting Spot
OSHA recommends designating one assembly area and taking headcounts in the case of evacuation. Instead of spreading to different areas of the building, fire evacuation plan nsw helps staff know where they are expected to be and at what time spot evacuation starts.
Remember staying together in one place is crucial as it helps fire warden to get a correct headcount and help them pass this detail to the head.
Keep Employees Stress-Free
Panic is common in the event of a fire. Once it happens, the staff loses staff potential to focus and think. A fire evacuation plan sets clear guidelines for every move. The series of moves prevents confusion and chaos. It helps them to stay calm and focused on their roles.
Easy to Implement
Staff needs constant reminders and practice to turn an evacuation plan into a successful evacuation. A well-written fire evacuation plan is simple to practice because each member knows about their roles well and how they should reply during a fire emergency.
Flexibility
Employees are not the only one that needs safety, but other people like clients Vendors and other guests also need to be evacuated safely. Evacuation plans with signs marking evacuation routes lower the risk of any damage to the visitors in case of a sudden building fire.
Constant Route Inspection
With time, unused spaces create a blockage for exit routes during a fire evacuation. However, when you have a proper fire safety plan, this forces your employees to move along the safest route of escape while staying calm. As they move along the routes during practice, they discover any blockages that restrict mobility.
When developing your business emergency action plan, you need to keep the following things in mind:
- If your office building has numerous interior spaces, it’s’ a good idea to paint and mark ‘exits’ with photoluminescent paint. The nice thing is that it that glows in the dark.
- The plan must include which ‘exits’ to use, and staff members must be aware of the steps required to reach the exit.
- Make sure that every staff member, as well as employee is knowledgeable about the fire evacuation plan.
- Review the plan and walk through each exit to make sure that everyone knows what action to take.
- Every business must have at least two exits.
- After the evacuation plan, do fire drills.
- Make the necessary arrangement for disabled people.
Wrapping Up:
A fire can be a catastrophic event. Therefore, to ensure that everyone stays protected, every business must have a fire evacuation plan in place. This fire safety plan must incorporate a detailed fire evacuation plan so that all people are familiar with where to exit the building fast in the event of a fire. Also, make sure you have the required emergency equipment handy and well-stocked.