J7 Fire Ltd technical guidance
What should a fire evacuation plan cover?
A useful fire evacuation plan connects the alarm, escape strategy, people, responsibilities and practical actions for the particular premises. It must be capable of being communicated and tested.
The plan begins with the evacuation strategy
The procedure must reflect how the building is intended to evacuate. Simultaneous, phased, progressive horizontal, stay-put and other strategies are not interchangeable labels. The appropriate arrangement depends on the building, use, occupants, fire precautions and available design or assessment information.
Core emergency actions
The written plan should address, as relevant to the premises:
- how fire is detected and the alarm is raised;
- what people should do on discovering fire or hearing the alarm;
- escape routes, alternative exits and any areas that must not be used;
- who calls the fire and rescue service and what information is provided;
- staff, warden, sweep, roll-call, assembly and management responsibilities;
- visitors, contractors, lone workers, out-of-hours occupation and temporary arrangements;
- people who may require assistance and how appropriate personal or general arrangements are established;
- liaison with the fire and rescue service, access, hazards and relevant shutdown actions;
- re-entry control and the authority for ending the emergency response.
People needing assistance
The plan should not rely on the fire and rescue service as the ordinary means of evacuating people for whom the responsible person has duties. Arrangements may require communication, assistance, refuges, evacuation aids, staff roles or personal emergency planning. The correct measures depend on the person, building and strategy and should preserve dignity without inventing a generic solution.
Communication, training and practice
A document stored in a file is not an implemented plan. Relevant people need information and instruction appropriate to their role. Drills and management checks help establish whether routes, alarm arrangements, responsibilities, assistance and assembly procedures work under realistic conditions.
Review the plan with the building
Review after changes to layout, occupancy, alarm arrangements, management roles, people needing assistance, incidents or problems identified during a drill. The fire risk assessment and evacuation plan should support one another; a conflict between them requires investigation and correction.
Authoritative source
Apply the guidance to the premises
This article provides general information. It does not replace a competent assessment of the particular building, work, people or responsibility arrangements.
Clear next steps
Discuss the requirement with J7 Fire Ltd
Tell us about the premises, the service required and any deadline. J7 Fire Ltd will confirm the scope, fee, VAT and applicable payment or account terms before work proceeds.
