Top Strategies for Creating an Effective Office Fire Escape Plan

8/27/2018 (Permalink)

Fires are frightening, destructive and unpredictable disasters that no business in Kansas City, KS wants to battle. While you can’t guarantee that your staff will never have to worry about a fire, the best way to protect your employees and ensure their safety is to prepare and implement a fire safety plan. In fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires most businesses to have a fire escape plan in place.

Communicating Your Plan

To be effective, your employees must be aware of your emergency escape plan and the proper procedures for executing it. All new employees should receive evacuation training as part of their orientation process. Your staff may also benefit from completing routine evacuation drills to remind everyone of the proper procedures and ensure evacuations can be completed both quickly and orderly.

Reporting a Fire

Your business should have a carefully crafted communication system for alerting building inhabitants of the fire as well as reporting the fire to authorities. Existing fire alarms need to be distinctive and easily recognizable, so they can be quickly located and activated. You may also choose to have an auxiliary power source for your alarm system in case of disrupted power.

Designating Escape Routes

Every fire escape plan should include primary and secondary escape routes and exits. Appropriate signage is essential and should include the following:
• Visible floorplans or route maps that clearly illustrate the location of all available exits
• Well-marked exits that are clear of debris
• Visual reminders that employees should avoid using an elevator in the event of a fire
Regrouping Outside of the Building
To ensure everyone is safe, you need to establish a procedure for accounting for personnel. Designating specific meet-up locations outside and away from the building should be a key aspect of this plan.
Protecting Your Assets
A well-developed fire escape plan can help minimize chaos and confusion should your business ever face a fire. As part of your plan, you may also want to designate a secure place to store duplicates or originals of important documents, such as accounting records, legal paperwork and employee files, that cannot be easily salvaged or restored during the cleanup and restoration process. Visit http://www.SERVPROkcmidtown.com for more information on fire damage.