February is a good time for a quick fire drill.
Everybody remembers the fire drills we had when we were at school. The administration often scheduled them for sunny fall days or warm spring days. As students, we got a little break from schoolwork and got outside for a few minutes. We didn’t realize then how important an orderly evacuation could be.
On construction jobsites, fire drills are especially critical. Evacuation routes can change daily as the building is framed out and some exits are blocked or created. Also, buildings that are being built or remodeled may not have working automatic fire-suppression systems or fire alarm systems, so it’s important for your people to know how to take quick action in case of an emergency.
In manufacturing shops, fire drills are also extremely important. If a fire starts and the lights go out, your people need a mental map that leads them to the nearest emergency exit. Workers who’ve practiced the route when an emergency isn’t happening will be better able to navigate the shop when stress is high and visibility is low.
A fire drill is also an opportunity to check that important safety protocols are in place.
- Does the alarm system work? The system could be an unmonitored system that simply makes noise and turns on emergency lights, a monitored system that automatically calls 911, or it could be a low-tech air horn that you use to signal an evacuation. If you depend on an air horn to signal evacuation, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) says you need to use a standard signal of 3 short air-horn blasts followed by a break, and then repeat the sequence. Make sure everyone knows that the series of 3 air-horn blasts means they need to evacuate.
- Are your people practicing good housekeeping? A fire drill exposes problems like slippery floors, blocked aisles, or emergency exits that are blocked from the outside—by a parked car that shouldn’t be there, by snow, or by a pallet of material.
- Are your people practicing good fire prevention? There’s nothing like a fire drill to make you more aware of piles of combustible sawdust, empty hooks where fire extinguishers once hung, or disorganized, open shelves of flammable chemicals.
Fire drills are good exercises. There are other reasons that you might need to get everyone out of the area quickly and safely. You may need to evacuate because of a broken water line, a gas leak, or violence. Everyone should be prepared for any of these situations.
As Benjamin Franklin advised back in 1736, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Put your fire drill on the schedule today.