If you are in charge of a building, whether it is an office building, an apartment building, or any other type, it is your responsibility to have emergency procedures and safety precautions in place. There are all kinds of situations where these things might be necessary: an intruder, a fire, a power loss, or any other situation where the building might need to be evacuated. Emergency exit signs with lights, for instance, are a wonderful thing to have in place to increase safety in the even of an evacuation.
When you ask some one to things of an example of an emergency, fire is often the first thing that comes to mind. Blackouts can happen just as easily, however, and they can be just as dangerous. A crowd of people trying to find their way to the exits in a large building with many flights of stairs could turn into complete chaos. This is one situation where lighted emergency signs would be helpful.
Here are some other tips for preparing your building for emergencies:
1. Make sure access to the exit doors is not blocked. Perhaps the exit doors are located in stairwells that are sometimes locked, or perhaps someone has placed a large storage shelf in front of one of the doors. You need to look for these obstacles routinely, in order to remove them. An emergency exit is no good if it is inaccessible when the time comes to use it.
2. Have a plan in place. The last things you want is to have people are running around in a chaotic fashion during an already dangerous time. There needs to be an organized plan in place for evacuating your building, and specific people should be designated to oversee different aspects of the procedure.
3. Make sure everyone is informed about the plan. Everyone who lives and/or works in the building should know the procedure for evacuation. The people who will lead different aspect of the evacuation should be particularly well versed. It is a good idea to call a meeting of all of these people every six months or so, to review procedures and make sure that everyone is on the same page. You can use this time to inform them of any changes to the plan, and to fill any vacancies, such as a person on the team who has quit or moved out.
4. Post instructions around the building. Having responsible leaders on each floor will certainly make procedures run more smoothly. However, realistically, in an evacuation situation, you may have people moving so quickly that they do not stick around to hear instructions. This is one of the reasons that it is helpful to post instructions for evacuation around the building. This, combined with the presence if informed leaders, will help to decrease chaos.
Ideally, all of these precautions will be just that-precautions. We always hope that emergencies will not occur, and these plans and procedures will not have to be enacted. Even so, having them in place helps to create peace of mind. Emergency exit signs with lights, as well as a sound plan for evacuation, will help the workers and/or occupants of your building to feel safer and more secure.
When you ask some one to things of an example of an emergency, fire is often the first thing that comes to mind. Blackouts can happen just as easily, however, and they can be just as dangerous. A crowd of people trying to find their way to the exits in a large building with many flights of stairs could turn into complete chaos. This is one situation where lighted emergency signs would be helpful.
Here are some other tips for preparing your building for emergencies:
1. Make sure access to the exit doors is not blocked. Perhaps the exit doors are located in stairwells that are sometimes locked, or perhaps someone has placed a large storage shelf in front of one of the doors. You need to look for these obstacles routinely, in order to remove them. An emergency exit is no good if it is inaccessible when the time comes to use it.
2. Have a plan in place. The last things you want is to have people are running around in a chaotic fashion during an already dangerous time. There needs to be an organized plan in place for evacuating your building, and specific people should be designated to oversee different aspects of the procedure.
3. Make sure everyone is informed about the plan. Everyone who lives and/or works in the building should know the procedure for evacuation. The people who will lead different aspect of the evacuation should be particularly well versed. It is a good idea to call a meeting of all of these people every six months or so, to review procedures and make sure that everyone is on the same page. You can use this time to inform them of any changes to the plan, and to fill any vacancies, such as a person on the team who has quit or moved out.
4. Post instructions around the building. Having responsible leaders on each floor will certainly make procedures run more smoothly. However, realistically, in an evacuation situation, you may have people moving so quickly that they do not stick around to hear instructions. This is one of the reasons that it is helpful to post instructions for evacuation around the building. This, combined with the presence if informed leaders, will help to decrease chaos.
Ideally, all of these precautions will be just that-precautions. We always hope that emergencies will not occur, and these plans and procedures will not have to be enacted. Even so, having them in place helps to create peace of mind. Emergency exit signs with lights, as well as a sound plan for evacuation, will help the workers and/or occupants of your building to feel safer and more secure.
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