Practicing a fire drill is an important step toward ensuring everyone gets out of the building safely.
Running a business isn’t only about increasing profits and productivity; it’s also about ensuring the safety of everyone that works in the building. Panic and confusion are two common elements of any emergency situation. Thus, practicing a fire drill is an important step toward ensuring everyone gets out of the building safely. Here are four tips for running a fire drill in your workplace.
Create a Committee
Assign employees to become members of a safety committee. The committee will then collaborate to make decisions regarding when the fire drill should take place. Each member should come from a different department to ensure that everyone in the company is represented. Members of the safety committee will also be responsible for verifying that everybody has participated in a fire drill at some point, and will know what to do when the time comes.
Develop Several Scenarios
One of the most important reasons to have fire drills is to be prepared for all possible situations. Therefore, be sure that you develop more than one exit strategy for your evacuation plan. Each employee should have access to the evacuation plan at their desks at all times. Also, the scenarios should include planning for employees that have mobility difficulties and other disabilities. Designate employees to assist those who use wheelchairs or need other special assistance. Make sure that all possible exits are kept clear at all times. Having these plans in place will ensure that in all scenarios, everyone in the building will know the plan of action for evacuating the building quickly and safely.
Practice Makes Perfect
Plan on scheduling more than one fire drill in the year. Having one about every three months should be sufficient for keeping everyone in the loop, especially as new employees come onboard. You may even want to hold a surprise fire drill at some point so you can be sure that the protocols will be followed as closely as possible during a real emergency.
Make It Mandatory
Fire drills aren’t fun. Be aware that not everyone enjoys participating in fire drills – some employees may even go out of their way to avoid them. Take attendance and make the drills mandatory for all employees. Stress the importance of emergency preparedness or even offer incentives for participation.
Commercial and Residential Fire Prevention from Judd Fire Protection
If you want to ensure your home and business are safe throughout the year, trust Judd Fire Protection, LLC. We have over two decades of experience with design, installation, service, and inspection of residential and commercial fire protection systems. We service clients throughout the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. If you are interested in finding out more about our services and protecting your home and business, give us a call at 410-871-3480 or contact us online. For more fire safety tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.