If you are in charge of a building, whether it is an office building, an apartment building, or any other type, it is your responsibility to have emergency procedures and safety precautions in place. There are all kinds of situations where these things might be necessary: an intruder, a fire, a power loss, or any other situation where the building might need to be evacuated. Emergency exit signs with lights, for instance, are a wonderful thing to have in place to increase safety in the even of an evacuation.
When we think of emergencies, one of the first things we think of is a fire. However, a blackout can also be very dangerous, especially in a large building. When a blackout occurs, people have a difficult time finding their way around and reaching the exits. This is a time when lighted signs would be particularly useful.
Here are some other tips for preparing your building for emergencies:
1. Make sure access to the exit doors is not blocked. Perhaps the exit doors are located in stairwells that are sometimes locked, or perhaps someone has placed a large storage shelf in front of one of the doors. You need to look for these obstacles routinely, in order to remove them. An emergency exit is no good if it is inaccessible when the time comes to use it.
2. Develop an organized evacuation plan. When people become frightened, they often erupt into chaos. This can make a dangerous situation even more dangerous. In order to prevent, or at least mitigate, chaos, create a plan that will tell people specifically where to go and how to get out of the building. There should be at leas one person from every floor who is a leader and is particularly familiar with this plan.
3. Communicate regularly about the plan. Call a meeting every six months of the people who are designated on each floor. Review their duties and all of the procedures, and make them aware of any changes. This can help to ensure that you fill any gaps in the leadership, making sure that each area of the building is covered by an informed person. Let these people know that they need to tell someone if they become unable to perform their duties.
4. Post written and illustrated instructions. In a true disaster, there may be people who are unable to hear the verbal instructions or who are too panicked to focus. Having written instructions will help to increase the likelihood that they will follow the plan. These instructions can supplement the ones given aloud by the designated leaders. This decreases the chance of dangerous chaos erupting.
We always hope that emergencies will not occur, and that evacuation plans will be unnecessary, never actually being put to use. However, having a plan in place, and taking safety precautions such as installing emergency exits with lights, will help provide you and the other people in your building with peace of mind. It helps to know that an organized plan exists when and if it is ever needed.
When we think of emergencies, one of the first things we think of is a fire. However, a blackout can also be very dangerous, especially in a large building. When a blackout occurs, people have a difficult time finding their way around and reaching the exits. This is a time when lighted signs would be particularly useful.
Here are some other tips for preparing your building for emergencies:
1. Make sure access to the exit doors is not blocked. Perhaps the exit doors are located in stairwells that are sometimes locked, or perhaps someone has placed a large storage shelf in front of one of the doors. You need to look for these obstacles routinely, in order to remove them. An emergency exit is no good if it is inaccessible when the time comes to use it.
2. Develop an organized evacuation plan. When people become frightened, they often erupt into chaos. This can make a dangerous situation even more dangerous. In order to prevent, or at least mitigate, chaos, create a plan that will tell people specifically where to go and how to get out of the building. There should be at leas one person from every floor who is a leader and is particularly familiar with this plan.
3. Communicate regularly about the plan. Call a meeting every six months of the people who are designated on each floor. Review their duties and all of the procedures, and make them aware of any changes. This can help to ensure that you fill any gaps in the leadership, making sure that each area of the building is covered by an informed person. Let these people know that they need to tell someone if they become unable to perform their duties.
4. Post written and illustrated instructions. In a true disaster, there may be people who are unable to hear the verbal instructions or who are too panicked to focus. Having written instructions will help to increase the likelihood that they will follow the plan. These instructions can supplement the ones given aloud by the designated leaders. This decreases the chance of dangerous chaos erupting.
We always hope that emergencies will not occur, and that evacuation plans will be unnecessary, never actually being put to use. However, having a plan in place, and taking safety precautions such as installing emergency exits with lights, will help provide you and the other people in your building with peace of mind. It helps to know that an organized plan exists when and if it is ever needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment