Evacuation Methods During a Fire - Example

Evacuation Methods during a Fire During the emergency situations, the fastest ways by which the people can evacuated in escaping from the fire are presented. The detailed methodology of study can be done in the ideal situation where no bad effects of fire damage are taken into consideration. This is related to a situation where a building nearby may be on fire. The fire in the building can be because of a bomb explosion, a chemical explosion, any kind of nuclear or a biological threat in the building or in the surroundings. All these above situations may cause a fire, which will be considered an emergency. Introduction Due to explosions and fires emergency that occurs, each year around 200 people and more than 5,000 workers are injured at there workplaces. In the year of 1995, more than 75,000 workplaces caught the fires. The loss that has been estimated to these businesses is more than $2.3 billion in the United States. Every year, it has been estimated that the people lose there lives and get injured because of fires at work. Fire costs in millions. The losses add up to the loss of business, the damage to the property, and insurance premiums and recompense claims. With the help of fire precautionary measures many fires can be avoided. Most of the countries introduced most existing fire safety legislation rules; emphasis is on preventing fires and reducing risk. These regulations applied to all non-domestic premises. Anyone who has some control over building must take reasonable steps to decrease the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire. (Seton compliance resource center) Emergency flight The emergency measures against the evacuation were introduced at the start of Second World War. All the evacuation methods were made to make sure that the lives of the younger children is in protective boundaries. In the time of the Second World War, the bombings were continuous from the Nazis so the children were the prime part of the evacuation procedures. Evacuation is the procedure by which people are moved away from immediate or anticipated danger place of incident for safety in an orderly fashion especially for protection purpose. Evacuation process offered enabled to return their normal accommodation, temporary medical and appropriate welfare facilities and activities when the risk to safety has passed while to make suitable alternative arrangements. (History learning site) The Fire Protection Association National Fire Safety organization Of United Kingdom is the Fire Protection Association. FPA has strong support from the insurance industry was established in 1946. During the work at the workplace, the safety from the fire is the responsibility of everyone working at the worksite. The Employers should conduct a workshop in which they make the employees learn about the dangers of catching a fire and its risks to the business. This plan should summarize the assignments of key people in the incident of a fire and provide an evacuation plan for workers. Fire marshals are well trained and refreshed with the training courses to manage with the fires. The following are general questions that possibly will keep us safe in any fire emergency especially during work. In fire emergency, how are the workers supposed to make an emergency exit? The workers should be aware of all the emergency exits in the case of the fire emergency. It should be made sure that during the emergency scenario, the emergency doors are automatically managed to be unlocked. All the hallways should be open enough so that all the workers make a proper emergency exit. Is your facility for easy evacuation? All the fore escape equipment that has been installed at the workplace should be in the proper working condition and it should be checked properly. FPA introduced the authorization that is the aim of establishment of FPA. Core authorization is as follow. By advancing fire prevention and protection techniques protect people, property and the environment The fire service and others in this work collaborate with its members, insurers, central and local government. Focus on to help national and international attention on such issues. To collect, identify, analyze and publish statistics, and promote research. Publication involves comprehensive approaches of fire safety training, fire prevention controls covering numerous products such as videos, electronic services, CDs, DVDs, books, reports, and online services, codes of practice, recommendations, and leaflets posters. It is best technique to train fire marshals to decrease the risk of fire hazards. (FPA) Evacuation methodology The methodology should be based on the principle as to how fast the people can be rescued form the wide spreading fire and how fast can the fire be stopped from spreading widely to other areas. Immediate action during fire emergency you do not put off. It is in the nature of the fire that it tends to spread very fast wildly. The fire along with it brings thick black smoke because of which the visibility reduces to a minimum possible level. This causes the decrease of oxygen take up and therefore the respiration and it is difficult to breathe. This requires that regarding escaping the fore quick decisions should be made. Emergency exist have to be made taking all the risky events in mind. The fire is spreading rapidly. One has no idea as to where the fire is spreading. So when the escape is needed, just try to improvise. Go pass different floors just making sure that the fire behind the door is not very wild. Make the exit of the fore is not present awaiting you behind the door. The fire should be reported to the Warden of the related area (Police or Fire and Rescue Services). The warden should be made aware of the fact that the people are trapped in building that is under fire. In the case of the fire the people who are trapped in the building do need help. Do not run away for your life. Help should be provided to the people in every way possible. Grab the hands of the people who are trapped and guide them fast to the exits of the building. In case of the person caught in the fire and if the person is on the ground floor than it should be made sure that the exits should primarily be made through the windows instead of the doors. If the room is filled up with the smoke than make sure to open the window so fresh air can come through the window and help the fresh air to filling the air and help you breathe. Call out people for their help if they can help you and assist you in any way possible. Try not to open the window fully if the room is filling up with the smoke of the fire, try to stay close to the ground. At the lower ground level, the hot air is absent as it rises upwards and the cooler air is present. Till that time just wait for the rescue teams (University of Western Australia). Fire evacuation plans The fire evacuation authority of the University of New Mexico in that fire evacuation plan is in the form of paper that facilitates the approach towards guidelines and requirements for the safe evacuation of all occupants and reporting of an emergency situation while fire related emergency is any unusual situation that causes an immediate fire or the dangerous products of fire, which in turn will create an unsafe environment. The university guidelines stat that in the event of emergency evacuation during fire there should be evacuation diagram attached to different area of the building facilitating the safe escape through fire exits and clearly sign posted. Also this is legal requirement to set fire alarm station near every fire exit so that anyone who detects any danger or threat to fire be able to press the alarm to make high alert the people inside the building. Alarm should be specific in sound and approachable to every single part of the building. General procedure in the event of fire emergency is the simple principle of RACE that stands for Rescue, people from the danger area if trained and safe to do so. Alert, all people in the danger area pull the fire alarm if applicable and address the tenants by the internal announcement system announcing on speaker as fire, fire and dial 911. When calling the emergency services the fire marshal must detail about the building name, road, area city name and if applicable must notify the fire related codes and company names who is responsible for fire protection and conduct weekly fire tests. Contain; close all the doors to contain fire and smoke. Extinguish small fires. If necessary, leave safely by the nearest fire exit and do not extinguish large fires. (University of New Mexico) Chuansheng Jiang et al, described with a lengthy research on evacuation and emergency procedures conducted in China that happened upon the recent fire in a bar in Guangdong. They explained the fire extinguisher and fire exit procedures in the China and concluded, as Fire extinguisher is located near to every fire exit and at reasonable distances in the building. On discovering fire, the first source to handle any fire risk is the fire extinguisher. Everyone in the building should be trained at the use of extinguisher at least once in a year and it is very important to secure and stand back at least 5-8 feet back from the fire point to make sure own safety first and fight with the fire as long as it is safe to do so. Once the fire building has been evacuated, do not enter the building again and everyone must collect together at the specific site some where preferable in the car park area away from the building. This area called Fire Assembly point. At any work place this is legal requirement to sign in and out of the building so that in the events of emergency every employee and occupant in the building must be counted and present in the assembly point. The fire marshal duty is to make sure the presence of everyone at the assembly point and no body inside the building. Looking and counting the people signed in and out of the building easily perform. Upon evacuation the building and fighting with the fire, no one is allowed to re- enter the building until directed by the authorized responding emergency personnel. The only agencies authorized are an authorized representative of safety, senior fire officer, and campus police officer. Emergency Plans should be developed and modified as necessary to include the securing any critical equipment, high value items, cash drawers etc. Also do not enter the building after evacuating it because of forgetting something, as it is very risky and dangerous. Always try to leave the building by the safe fire exit. (Chuansheng Jiang et al) Jean Marc-Franssen described about the effects of localized fire when the structure of the building was being analyzed. He explained that the methodologies are used for analyzing the fire behaviour of a structure that is subjected to uniform thermal situation couldn’t be applied when the fire is limited to a small area. He explained that the ideology of zoning can be implemented at this point. The structure can be categorized in many areas where the situation that occurs is considered to be identical (Jean Marc-franssen). Some of the countries as USA, UK, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, are the countries which are in the highly developed stage of the development of the fire safety codes. The codes have been implemented in many cities in much better ways as compared to previously. Nonetheless, this advanced way of implementation still faces some errors and problems because of the many reservations with the fire design. There are many questions that arise with the fire safety codes. The questions may include as to how the selection of the most appropriate fore origin room be made. In addition to this, the fire origin room location should be known. (Jean-Marc Franssen) Fire and Rescue Service Fire and Rescue Service is responsible for fighting fires and safe, protecting the life and property in the incident of fire emergency, we all have responsible in minimizing the risk from fire. Most of the countries have fire safety legislation. Each building should have an emergency fire action plan identifying the evacuation procedures for everyone as well as disabled people, likely to be in the building. Everyone responsible for fire safety that enters business premises customers, employees, contractors or visitors should ensure fire safety. However, "responsible person” must now have a legally designated who must arrange for identify any possible fire risks, risk assessment, and deal with them. The responsible people are someone who has control over premises, or over some areas, departments or systems. Duties of the Responsible People The Duties of the Responsible person has control over premises or fire prevention systems within premises. If there is a fire, the duty of responsible person must make sure that everyone who uses your premises can escape. The people need to include anyone who might be on premises, employees, visitors or members of the public. People need to pay attention to those who may need special help, such as disabled or elderly people or children. If you are the responsible person then you have to make sure that the fire-risk assessment is official. You are responsible in fire laws and you can hire some other experienced person to do the actual assessment. Suggested way to perform a risk assessment follows a step-by-step process. Complete Plan to deal with all fire emergencies. Must consider the following: Identify possible dangers, risks and perform a fire-risk assessment. Monitor of the risk from fire, as far as possible. Fire precautions put in place to deal with any risks that remain. Record your findings and review them. If people used or store explosive or flammable materials then make sure there is in protection. Identify the fire Risk Including piles of waste, display materials, or other flammable products can burn in a fire. Naked flames, heaters or commercial processes such as cookers or hot-air dryers anything that can cause a fire. Air conditioning, medical products or commercial oxygen supplies which might intensify a fire. Identify people at risk People work with fire hazards or close to fire. People work in isolated areas such as storerooms or alone at work place. Parents with babies. Disabled people. Old people. Evaluate remove the risk. Must consider the following: Highly flammable materials replace with less flammable. Identify where possible of the fire. Keep necessary things or equipments that can start a fire away from flammable materials. Safe smoking policy for employees, customers or visitors. Ban on smoking within enclosed spaces. Safe Escape: It should be made sure that every one is well aware of as what should be done in the case of the fire scenario. There should be a drawing that should be sketching the escape routes on the floor plans and the minimum number of the escape routes on the floor plans should be equal to two. The plan should be illustrative of all the important details that are vital to be used as fire escape ways such as stairs, hallways and windows. Test windows and doors open easily, windows wide or tall. Alert how many people are going to be using the escape route Escape route as small as possible. All escape routes with appropriate signs. Make sure escape routes are kept free of any obstructions Control emergency lighting system. Try to educate and train all employees in how to escape the building Arrange for the evacuation of aged, other less able-bodied people or disabled people. Account both physical and mental damaged. Put into practice staying low to the ground when escaping. Passageways should be one meter and more than 30 meters long, or 45 meters in offices and factories, should be divided into equal parts by fire doors. Passageways wide ensuring there is a clear and smooth passageway to all escapes routes. In a real fire situation, dark smoke generated by a fire most likely will make it difficult to see. Put into practice evacuating the building blindfolded. If clothes catch fire stop, drop and roll to the ground Evacuation by Elevators The term emergency elevator evacuation system (EEE) is used an elevator system engineering for move of building occupants in a location of safety during fire emergency. (EEE) includes the elevator equipment Elevator shaft, machine room and other equipment and control need for safe operation of the elevator during the evacuation process. Because occupant must be protected from fire and smoke while they wait for an elevator. (Klote, J. H) The evacuation plans that are made are emphasizing the point that the elevators if present in the building should be exiting to the main entrance of the building. In the case of the fire emergency, the figures say that the stairs are not very helping to make an emergency exit. In addition it is said that the people who are aged, the disabled people are generally unable to use the stairs. The disability and the older age make them slower to run for the exit on stairs. The time periods can be divided into three phases in the case of the emergency fires. The acknowledgment time, response time, and the way out time. The Pre-movement is the time in which the people realize that the fire has started and the people start to make the exits out of the building. The time period that this time takes is influenced by the factors which include the signs of hazard that the people realize as for example people smell the smoke, alarms, the time of day and it also includes the kinds of the buildings which has caught the fire. Some of the theories suggest that the pre-movement time is approximately three times longer than the real progress time (Proulx 1995). The residents of the building usually become aware of the fire after the recognition time. The most dangerous part is when the fire has started but there are no alarms being put out to make the people aware of the fire. In the course of the reaction time, the people make the analysis of the fire situation, try to collect the personal belongings, their children etc. Emergency Training for situations also affects the reaction time. In the course of the real movement time, people make there exits out of the building to reach an area of the safety from the fire. In the case if the Elevators are being used in the buildings, there are many things to be considered before that. They can be used in buildings that have very higher heights which are hard to deal with in the case of an emergency situation. With the higher buildings and the installation of the elevators it has been noticed that the emergency exit times are usually dropped to 15 to 30 minutes as compared to the 2 to 3 hours exit times. In extremely tall buildings, shuttle elevators may be of very help during the fire exit systems (Dr. Marja, Henri Hakonen). Emergency elevator evacuation must have safety from flame, smoke, heat, water, over heating of elevator machine room equipment, and failure of electrical power. An EEE must have a control approach to assure protection of people traveling in the elevator in an emergency. Advance development of an EEE needs to take into account human behavior so that building occupants will be willing and cable to operate the system in an emergency. (Klote, J. H) References: 1. Seton Compliance resource centre, 1995-2008 Tricor Direct, Inc. & IntraWEB, LLC. http://www.setonresourcecenter.com/EEFS/comply.htm 2. Chris Trueman BA (Hons), History Learning Site ,2000-2008 historylearningsite.co.uk, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/evacuation.htm 3. The Fire Protection Association, England No. 3806681, London Road, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, http://www.thefpa.co.uk/About/ 4. The University of Western Australia, safety and health http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/policies/emergency_fire_and_evacuation#Fire 5. Nicola Newman, Fire safety and risk assessment, Communities and local Government. UK, crown protection 2008 6. Proulx, G. (1995). Evacuation time and movement in apartment buildings, Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 24 (3), pp. 229-246. 7. Dr. Marja-Liisa Siikonen, MSc, and Henri Hakonen, MSc, EFFICIENT EVACUATION METHODS IN TALL BUILDINGS, July 2003 _ Elevator World 8. Klote, J. H.; Levin, B. M.; Groner, N. E,NISTIR 5445; 110 p. May 1994.Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, National Technical Information Service 9. Chuansheng Jiang, Wei Li, Cheng Hu, Yan Xiong, Hui Ding and W.K. Chow 2008 “Emergency evacuation in places for public entertainment in Mainland China” vol 44(1) pages 169-176 10. Guanquan Chu and Jinhua Sun 2007, “ Decision analysis on fire safety design based on evaluating building fire risk to life” Vol 46(7) pages 1125-1136. 11. Jean-Marc Franssen, Dan Pintea and Jean-Claude Dotreppe 2007, “Considering the effects of localized fires in the numerical analysis of a building structure”, vol 42(7) pg 473-481 12. R. Machado Tavares, J.M Lopes Tavares and S.L. Parry-Jones 2008, “The use of a mathematical multicriteria decision-making model for selecting the fire origin room” Vol 43(12) pages 2090-2100 Read More