Workplace Emergencies and Evacuation

Emergencies give you no time to work out a plan. In smoke, noise and panic, people do what they already know. The first few minutes of a fire, chemical release or storm usually depend on whether you already know the alarm, the nearest two exits, and where to go once you are out. Learn those on your first day at any new workplace.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Say what an emergency action plan must cover and find the key facts in yours.
• Evacuate correctly, including what to do at doors, on stairs and at the assembly point.
• Choose between evacuating and sheltering for different emergencies.
• Respond if you are trapped and cannot reach an exit.

The Emergency Action Plan

An emergency action plan (EAP) is your employer's written plan for what everyone does in an emergency. OSHA's rule is 29 CFR 1910.38, and construction employers follow a similar rule at 1926.35. An employer with 10 or fewer employees may share the plan by word of mouth. Larger employers must put it in writing and keep it where workers can read it. At a minimum, the plan covers:

• How to report a fire or other emergency.
• How to evacuate, including exit routes and who goes where.
• What workers who stay behind to shut down critical operations must do.
• How to account for everyone after evacuation.
• Who has rescue and medical duties.
• Who to contact for more information.

The employer must have an alarm system that workers can recognize, and must review the plan with you when you start, when your duties change, and when the plan changes.

Questions to Answer on Day One

1. What does the alarm sound or look like here?
2. Where are the two closest exits from where I work?
3. Where is the nearest fire alarm pull station, phone or radio?
4. What number do I call, and do I need to dial out first?
5. Where is the assembly point, and who takes the headcount?
6. Where are the first aid kit and the automated external defibrillator (AED)?
7. Does anyone near me need help getting out?

If you work on different sites, ask these at each one. A plan from your last job will not tell you where the exits are on this one.

Exit Routes

An exit route is the continuous, unblocked path from anywhere in a building to a safe place outside. OSHA's rules at 29 CFR 1910.34 through 1910.39 set the basics:

• Most workplaces need at least two exit routes, located away from each other, so one fire cannot block both.
• Exit routes must be at least 28 inches wide at all points.
• Exit doors must open from the inside without a key, tool or special knowledge.
• Exits must be clearly marked, and any door that could be mistaken for an exit must be labeled, for example "Not an Exit."
• Routes must stay clear at all times, including during construction and repairs.

Fire and building codes also require emergency lighting that turns on automatically when the power fails and lasts at least 90 minutes along the exit route. If you see a blocked exit, a chained door or a dark exit sign, report it right away.

How to Evacuate

When the alarm sounds, go. Do not wait to see whether it is real.

1. Stop work and make your task safe only if your plan assigns you to and it takes seconds, such as shutting off a torch.
2. Leave by the nearest safe exit. Do not go back for your phone, coat or tools.
3. Check a closed door before opening it. Touch it with the back of your hand, starting low and moving up. If it is hot, use another way out.
4. Close doors behind you. A closed door slows fire and smoke and gives everyone else more time. Do not lock them.
5. Stay low if there is smoke. The cleanest air is near the floor.
6. Use the stairs, never the elevator. An elevator can lose power and trap you, it can stop at the fire floor, and its shaft can fill with smoke like a chimney.
7. Go straight to your assembly point and stay there.
8. Report to the person taking the headcount. Tell them if someone is missing and where you last saw that person.
9. Stay out until the fire department or the person in charge says it is safe.

Accounting for people is not a formality. If no one knows who is out, firefighters may go in to search for someone who is standing in the parking lot. If someone is still inside, the headcount is how rescuers find out.

Warning: Do not go back in for anyone. Tell the responders who is missing and where they were. Trained people with breathing equipment can go where you cannot.

If You Are Trapped

If you cannot reach an exit:

1. Close the door between you and the fire.
2. Seal cracks and vents with clothing, tape or anything else you can find.
3. Call 911 and give your exact location, including the floor, room and side of the building. Do this even if you think others have called.
4. Go to a window and signal with a light or bright cloth.
5. Stay low, and open a window a little for air only if smoke is not coming in from outside.

Evacuate or Shelter

Leaving is not the right response to every emergency. The plan should say which one applies.

If you work outdoors or in the open, know your site's signal, your muster point and how to get clear of trenches, heights and vehicles. If you work alone, know how you would call for help.

People Who Need Help

Some coworkers cannot hear an alarm, cannot see a sign, or cannot use stairs. Plans should name who helps them, and a buddy assignment is a common method. Visitors and contractors may not know the building at all. If you pass someone who looks lost, take them with you.

Drills

A drill is the only way to find out whether a plan works before it matters. Treat it as real. Walk your route, go to the assembly point and answer the headcount. Afterward, say what went wrong, such as an alarm you could not hear, a door that stuck, or a route that passed the hazard.

Common Mistakes

• Waiting for proof. People who stop to look for smoke lose the time they needed.
• Using the door you came in by. It may not be the closest, and it may be the one in trouble. Learn your second exit.
• Going home from the assembly point. Someone will then be listed as missing, which can send rescuers into danger.
• Propping or blocking doors and aisles. A stack of boxes in a corridor is an exit problem.

Check Your Understanding

1. The alarm goes off while you are halfway through a task, and you are sure it is a false alarm. What do you do?

Leave. If you are running something that takes a few seconds to shut down and that step is part of your plan, do it. Otherwise go straight to your exit.

2. You reach a stairwell door and the back of your hand feels heat. What now?

Do not open it. Go to your second exit. If you cannot get to one, close yourself into a room, seal the door, and call 911 with your location.

3. You stopped at your truck instead of the assembly point. Why does that matter?

The headcount will show you as missing. Responders may search a burning building for you.

4. A sheriff's alert tells your site to shelter in place because of a chemical release nearby. What do you do?

Go inside, close doors and windows, have the air handling shut off if that is your plan, and wait for the all clear.

Key Takeaways

• Learn the alarm, two exits and your assembly point the first day at any workplace.
• When the alarm sounds, leave at once, close doors behind you, stay low and use the stairs.
• Go to the assembly point and report in, so nobody searches for you.
• Never go back inside. Tell responders who is missing.
• Some emergencies call for sheltering, so know which response fits which event.