A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building should evacuate in the event of a fire or other emergencies. In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest available exits, as if an emergency had actually occurred. Fire drill procedures may vary depending on the building type, such as hospitals or high rise buildings, where occupants may be relocated within the building as opposed to evacuating the building. Generally, the evacuation interval is measured to ensure that it is fast enough, and problems with the emergency system or evacuation procedures are identified so that they may be remedied.
In addition to fire drills, most buildings have their fire alarm systems checked on a regular basis to ensure that the system is working. Fire alarm tests are often done outside normal business hours so as to minimize disruption of building functions; in schools, they are often done when students and staff are not around or during the holidays where specialist fire alarm engineers test alarms in the building for repair if needed.
The purpose of fire drills in buildings is to ensure that everyone knows how to exit safely as quickly as possible if a fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other emergency occurs, and to familiarize building occupants with the sound of the fire alarm. [1]
Before regular fire drills were instituted, an infamous fire broke out at the private Catholic school Our Lady of the Angels in 1958, in Chicago. [2] Children on the second floor were trapped there, with neither teachers nor pupils knowing how to get out of the building safely. Many children jumped out of windows, and many were killed as they could not make their way to an exit. [2] Although the school had passed a fire inspection only two months before, and had the number of fire exits and fire extinguishers required at the time, it lacked smoke detectors or adequate fire alarms, and was overcrowded. [2]
The need for fire drills was recognized; monthly fire drills were implemented after the Our Lady of the Angels fire. It was found in a later study that education on fire also helped to prevent it: people started to learn more about what started fires, and what to do in the case of one starting. They were also aware of the hazards that allow a fire to start and grow. Within a year of the fire, many of the hazardous conditions such as found in Our Lady of the Angels had been eliminated in thousands of schools around the United States.[ citation needed ]
After the fire at Our Lady of the Angels, state regulations required that there had to be fire alarm street boxes no more than 100 feet (30 m) from the front of the building. The General Assembly of Illinois also passed life safety codes in response to the fire at Our Lady of the Angels. Things such as more control over waste disposal, proper storage of combustible supplies, more frequent fire drills, and inspections were put in place. [3] Other reforms triggered by the fire include the city of Chicago modifying the Municipal Building Code of Chicago, affecting fire safety of schools as well as other buildings with two or more stories. [2]
To prevent fires and deaths caused by fires, schools must have an evacuation plan in place, and make sure that all the proper fire alarms and warnings work. Teachers must take charge of the situation and act as leaders. Teachers should also consider the number of students that they have, and the need for enough space and time to get all of the students out quickly and safely. Teachers should also be alert to the causes of fires, in order to try and stop them from happening. [4]
Many jurisdictions require that fire drills be conducted at certain intervals. This is the case in educational institutions, and also other workplaces and buildings. The frequency of such drills and what must be done during them may be laid down in statutes.[ citation needed ]
In the United States, school fire drill regulations are set by individual states. While all mandate fire drills during the course of a school year, the frequency and number vary from state to state.
The following states require that schools conduct a fire drill once per month:
The following states require that schools conduct a specific number of drills over the course of the entire school year, or that a certain number of drills must be conducted within a certain period of time:
The following states specify a greater frequency of fire drills at the beginning of the school year:
Until regulations changed on November 1, 2010, New Jersey was unique in its requirement that schools conduct 2 fire drills per month. [47] Under later requirements, one of the 2 fire drills was replaced by a monthly security drill. [16]
The National Union of Teachers requires that all schools, colleges and universities and any other education establishment perform a fire evacuation drill every term. [48] It is required that most schools perform a fire drill at the start of the academic year. [49] According to UK fire regulations, any new buildings that were built after the fire safety regulations changed in 2005, every room should have at least one fire alarm device such as a bell, a sounder (siren) or smoke/heat alarm installed. Regular safety checks such as testing fire alarms or smoke alarms and fire extinguishers should be performed weekly and does not require building evacuation. [49] According to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, all workplaces must have an emergency plan specifying staff actions, evacuation plans and arrangements for contacting the fire brigade. [50]
The New Zealand Fire Service requires all schools and educational facilities to carry out a fire drill (termed a trial evacuation) at least once every six months, unless a shorter period is specified in the school's approved evacuation scheme. Schools need to give the Fire Service 7–10 working days' notice before a fire drill is planned, and must submit a report to the Fire Service within 7–10 working days of the drill; an unplanned alarm activation does not count as a fire drill. [51]
A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors/Alarms are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about 125 millimetres (5 in) in diameter and 25 millimetres (1 in) thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detected either optically (photoelectric) or by physical process (ionization). Detectors may use one or both sensing methods. Sensitive alarms can be used to detect and deter smoking in banned areas. Smoke detectors in large commercial and industrial buildings are usually connected to a central fire alarm system.
A fire alarm notification appliance is an active fire protection component of a fire alarm system. A notification appliance may use audible, visible, or other stimuli to alert the occupants of a fire or other emergency condition requiring action. Audible appliances have been in use longer than any other method of notification. Initially, all appliances were either electromechanical horns or electric bells, which would later be replaced by electronic sounders. Most of today's appliances produce sound levels between 70 and 100 decibels at 3 ft.
A safety curtain is a passive fire protection feature used in large proscenium theatres. It is usually a heavy fabric curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron curtain in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
A crash bar is a type of door opening mechanism which allows users to open a door by pushing a bar. While originally conceived as a way to prevent crowd crushing in an emergency, crash bars are now used as the primary door opening mechanism in many commercial buildings.
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a fire.
An emergency exit in a building or other structure is a special exit used during emergencies such as fires. The combined use of regular and emergency exits allows for faster evacuation, and emergency exits provide alternative means of evacuation if regular exits are inaccessible.
An emergency light is a battery-backed lighting device that switches on automatically when a building experiences a power outage.
Emergency evacuation is an immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.
A fire alarm control panel (FACP), fire alarm control unit (FACU), fire indicator panel (FIP), or simply fire alarm panel is the controlling component of a fire alarm system. The panel receives information from devices designed to detect and report fires, monitors their operational integrity, and provides for automatic control of equipment, and transmission of information necessary to prepare the facility for fire based on a predetermined sequence. The panel may also supply electrical energy to operate any associated initiating device, notification appliance, control, transmitter, or relay. There are four basic types of panels: coded panels, conventional panels, addressable panels, and multiplex systems.
A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building—occasionally inside, but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible. Fire escapes are most often found on multiple-story residential buildings, such as apartment buildings.
Fire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people, property, and their environments from the harmful and destructive effects of fire and smoke. It encompasses engineering which focuses on fire detection, suppression and mitigation and fire safety engineering which focuses on human behavior and maintaining a tenable environment for evacuation from a fire. In the United States 'fire protection engineering' is often used to include 'fire safety engineering'.
Manual fire alarm activation is the process of triggering a fire alarm through a call point, pull station, or other device. This usually causes the alarm to sound the evacuation signal for the relevant building or zone. Manual fire alarm activation requires human intervention, as distinct from automatic fire alarm activation such as that provided through the use of heat detectors and smoke detectors. It is, however, possible for call points/pull stations to be used in conjunction with automatic detection as part of the overall fire detection and alarm system. Systems in completed buildings tend to be wired in and include a control panel. Wireless activators are common during construction.
A placard is a notice installed in a public place, like a small card, sign, or plaque. It can be attached to or hung from a vehicle or building to indicate information about the vehicle operator or contents of a vehicle or building. It can also refer to paperboard signs or notice carried by picketers or demonstrators.
A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buildings. They may include smoke detectors, heat detectors, and manual fire alarm activation devices. All components of a fire alarm system are connected to a fire alarm control panel. Fire alarm control panels are usually found in an electrical or panel room. Fire alarm systems generally use visual and audio signalization to warn the occupants of the building. Some fire alarm systems may also disable elevators, which are unsafe to use during a fire under most circumstances.
A muster drill, sometimes referred to as a lifeboat drill or a boat drill, is an exercise that is conducted by the crew of a ship prior to embarking on a voyage. A muster drill prepares passengers for safe evacuation, in the event of an emergency on board the ship, and familiarizes the crew and the passengers with escape routes. In a muster drill, the use of life vests and the escape routes from the ship are explained to the passengers. It is typically conducted approximately 30 minutes prior to the ship's scheduled departure time, and all guests must remain silent during the drill so that everyone will be able to hear the safety announcements from the captain. To alert that the drill is in progress, a general emergency alarm is sounded, and the captain then explains what the passengers need to do.
An emergency procedure is a plan of actions to be conducted in a certain order or manner, in response to a specific class of reasonably foreseeable emergency, a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or the environment. Where a range of emergencies are reasonably foreseeable, an emergency plan may be drawn up to manage each threat. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath. The emergency plan should allow for these possibilities.
The term "tornado preparedness" refers to safety precautions made before the arrival of and during a tornado. Historically, the steps taken have varied greatly, depending on location, or time remaining before a tornado was expected. For example, in rural areas, people might prepare to enter an external storm cellar, in case the main building collapses, and thereby allow exit without needing rescue from the main building as in urban areas. Because tropical storms have spawned many tornadoes, hurricane preparations also involve tornadoes. The term "tornado preparedness" has been used by government agencies, emergency response groups, schools, insurance companies, and others.
An emergency communication system (ECS) is any system that is organized for the primary purpose of supporting one-way and two-way communication of emergency information between both individuals and groups of individuals. These systems are commonly designed to convey information over multiple types of devices, from signal lights to text messaging to live, streaming video, forming a unified communication system intended to optimize communications during emergencies. Contrary to emergency notification systems, which generally deliver emergency information in one direction, emergency communication systems are typically capable of both initiating and receiving information between multiple parties. These systems are often made up of both input devices, sensors, and output/communication devices. Therefore, the origination of information can occur from a variety of sources and locations, from which the system will disseminate that information to one or more target audiences.
The San José Fire Department (SJFD) provides firefighting, rescue and emergency medical services to the city of San Jose, California, United States. The San Jose Fire Department protects the third largest city in California and the 13th largest city in the nation.
A safety drill is a drill that is practised to prepare people for an emergency.
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