Fire Evacuation: What Your Business Needs To Consider

Aug 23 2023 11:58AM

Fire drills are important for every business to ensure their employees’ safety. By teaching staff the right fire drill procedures, you can help them to exit a building safely in case of a fire, reducing their fear and confusion. Regular fire drills can make your employees feel more secure as they will know what to do if a fire happens, and this can improve their comfort and satisfaction at work.

How Often Should Fire Drills Be Done?

By law, businesses must do at least one fire drill per year and record the results. However, your Fire Risk assessment may recommend that you do fire drills more often to make sure that staff are fully confident in what to do in a real fire situation.

All staff should take part in at least one fire drill practice, so it is a good idea to do several fire drills to make sure that no one is left out. Also, several drills are especially useful for businesses that have different shifts, to make sure that staff from every shift have a chance to join a drill.

How Should Businesses Get Ready For a Fire Drill?

Businesses should tell staff about upcoming fire drills to get maximum attendance and to give people a chance to get ready. Fire drills can be frightening when they are not expected. The aim is to make sure staff know how to leave the building safely and calmly in a real fire, so it is important that fire drills do not cause stress and panic.

It is important to make sure there are enough fire wardens on the day of the fire drill. Fire wardens are staff who help the evacuation go smoothly, and they should be trained in fire safety to make sure they are competent. The number of wardens you need depends on the size of the business and the level of fire risk. Low-risk environments should have one warden for every 50 people. Medium to high-risk environments need one warden for every 15 to 20 people.

Get Professional Help For Your Fire Drills

The kinds of fire drills you do, and the steps involved will depend on the size and type of your business and premises.

We can help you plan, organise and monitor your fire drills to make sure they are suitable for your unique business needs. Find out more about our fire drill services now.