Fire Evacuation Procedure & Plan

Posted in Fire Safety, Work Health Safety

In lesson Part 1 we learned about the nature of fire and in lesson Part 2 we learned about fire prevention strategies and how to use a fire extinguisher. How do these pieces come together to form a comprehensive fire safety plan? What additional procedures do we need to have in place?  Look at the video below as a refresher of previous learning and to find out about the other parts of a plan to develop and practice:

The best plan for keeping everyone safe in a fire is to prevent fires from happening in the first place and practicing how to get out of the residence/building if a fire happens.

You already have learned about the importance of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Another important part of fire safety is to have an evacuation plan.  This is a plan that everyone should know because it gives guidance as to what to do in case of a fire and what exit route to use for the particular building you are in.

LTC has a staff person who is identified as the LTC Safety Officer.  Currently that person is the Operations Manager. The Safety Officer is responsible for oversight of emergency disaster plans and drills and ensuring that the organization is well prepared to respond effectively to any emergency, including a fire.

Each location will additionally identify a person who will have the primary responsibility for assuring everyone leaves the residence or office if a fire develops.  In the residences, that person is the live-in Senior Resident or the Residential Manager.  At the office it is the Manager on duty.  As soon after a fire event as possible, a critical incident report needs to be completed by the person who supervised the evacuation.  This will be done online at https://www.accreditationnow.com/incident_report.asp (Login is required) or on paper and sent to the Safety Officer if there is no access to a computer.

The plan must include posted floor plans on each floor with the evacuation routes clearly highlighted.  Ideally 2 exit routes will be identified for each floor on the floor plan. Below is an example:

 

Example Fire Evacuation Map

 

LTC Evacuation Procedures:

 

  • Announce that there is a fire in the building and direct all individuals to leave the area immediately.
  • Close all doors to contain the fire.
  • Call 911 and report the fire, providing the name and address of the site.
  • If the fire is small, attempt to contain it by using a fire extinguisher.
  • Make sure everyone is assembled at the predetermined assembly area and account for all persons served, employees, and visitors.
  • All physically able individuals are evacuated first, followed by staff members who will assist all others who need assistance to evacuate.
  • The safety officer or designee will provide any special information to arriving emergency personnel such as size and location of fire and location of any flammable or explosive items, and will relinquish control of the situation to the local authorities.
  • The fire department will be the final authority in determining building re-entry.
  • If the building/residence cannot be re-occupied, the designated employee in charge of managing the site will manage, through consultation with the CEO or the Operations Manager, the continuation of essential services.
  • The Safety Officer will be notified as soon as possible of the incident and an incident report will be completed and processed as per the Critical Incident Policy.

 

Your “evacuation plan” should get everyone out of the building within 2 ½ minutes. All LTC programs practice fire drills at least annually and document those fire drills, noting at a minimum, the following information:

  • The date and time of the drill.
  • The names of everyone who participated.
  • The amount of time needed to complete the drill.
  • A brief evaluation of the drill.
  • If a drill was postponed, then documentation of why a drill was postponed is required.

Routine and properly executed fire drills will go a long way toward keeping everyone safe in the event of a fire.

You have now completed the LTC Fire Safety and Prevention course! Thanks you for your time and participation. You must now complete the post-test.  Your post-test score, along with your pre-test score for this course will be printed and maintained in your file as documentation of this training.

TAKE THE POST-TEST NOW