Emergency Evacuation Drill

Following on from our recent article on Emergency Response Planning, we have seen a need to address the question of how to run the best drill.

The first thing you must ask yourself…is what are you looking to get out of the drill?

If we look at something that all organisations should do, a standard fire drill evacuation, the main goals are as follows:

·        To familiarise all staff with the emergency evacuation plan, including:

o  Where the emergency exits are.

o  Where the emergency exits discharge to.

o  Where the assembly point is.

·        To identify areas for improvement or revision.  All staff, especially trained Fire Wardens, should be reporting any issues with the evacuation procedure. These could include:

o  Bottle necks in evacuation routes.

o  Areas where the alarm can’t be heard clearly.

o  Any emergency equipment that didn’t work correctly such as doors that wouldn’t open.

Initially, these should be the basics that are covered now, and a more effective plan and set of objectives can be developed later. Things to consider when developing this Plan are:

·        What is being tested?

o  Location

o  People

o  Procedures

·        What type of incident, and arising from which hazard(s)?

·        Who will participate?

o  Staff

o  Public

o  Civil Defence

·        Who will direct and control the drill, and who will observe?

o  Use video and photos to record the drill.

·        Vary the drill, and add in ‘realistic’ issues, such as,

o  An injured person

o  A trapped person, i.e., a person can hide to see if a Fire Warden finds them.

Don’t be afraid to push the drill, but if things don’t go perfectly, make sure you communicate the issues to stakeholders afterwards. This should include what went wrong, how you are going to improve on the response and recommunication of your Plan.