Fire Drills & Evacuations for Elderly Nutrition Programs

Introduction:

Fire safety and evacuation plans outline staff duties and responsibilities in time of emergency. Ongoing training is required to help ensure that staff is aware of those duties and responsibilities. Fire drills serve as an opportunity for staff members to demonstrate, under simulated fire conditions, that they can perform those duties and responsibilities safely and efficiently. It’s also a time for them to show that they are aware of defend-in-place strategies and can take advantage of your facility’s fire safety features and vacate facilities to protect the people in their care.

Fire drills are more than an exercise designed to evaluate staff response to a simulated emergency. They are also a test of your facility’s fire safety/evacuation plans and staff training programs. Not all fire drills run smoothly. That’s okay, so long as staff and management learn from them and correct mistakes made. It’s important, therefore, that there be a critique of each drill so that any problems encountered can be addressed. Perhaps the problems are due to incomplete or outdated fire safety/evacuation plans. Perhaps there’s a need for additional staff training.

Fire Drill & Earthquake Activity Form

Certification Requirements:

Elderly Nutrition Program Community Centers must perform at least one fire drill annually and records must be kept of these drills. At a minimum, these records include:

• Site manager or person conducting the drill.
• Date and time completed.
• Length of time needed to evacuate.
• Number of participants present.
• Number of participants who would not cooperate.
• Number of staff & volunteers directing activitie(s)
• Comments and observations such as notification method used, special conditions simulated, problems encountered, etc..

It is preferable that the local fire department participate in the activity. If possible have them provide information on personal fire safety and emergency preparedness at home.

It is strongly encouraged that the fire department be asked to participate in a fire drill. Such drills must, however, be carefully planned – advance notice should be given to participants to avoid upsetting or exciting them.

It is expected that all persons subject to the drill will participate (if some staff members are allowed to be excused from drills, there is a danger that, in an actual emergency, the evacuation and relocation process will be compromised). All participants should participate in drills to the extent possible.

Performing the Drill:

Drills should be scheduled on a random basis – they need to be held at unexpected times and under varying conditions to simulate the unusual conditions that can occur in an actual fire. Fire is unpredictable. Staff must be able to react to the conditions present and adjust their actions accordingly to ensure a safe and orderly evacuation. Conducting drills at varying times using different locations and scenarios not only tests their ability to do so, but makes them confident enough that the potential for confusion or panic under actual fire conditions is significantly reduced. If staff can remain calm and self-assured under emergency conditions, there is less likelihood of upsetting or exciting the facility’s residents and visitors.

There are a number of ways that can be used to alert staff of a fire in a fire drill scenario including:

• Place a sign, flashing light, picture of a fire or red-colored cloth in the area of simulated fire origin.
• Hand a note to a staff person outlining a fire scenario they’ve just discovered.
• Activate a manual fire alarm pull box and have staff respond accordingly.

Staff should be expected to activate the nearest fire alarm box. Because the alarm is to be sounded during drills, it’s important that any company or agency monitoring the fire alarm system be notified in advance of the drill to avoid dispatching the fire department. It’s equally important that the monitoring company/agency be contacted after the drill to verify the time that an alarm signal was received and to serve notice that the drill has been completed.

The drill must include complete evacuation of the smoke compartment containing the area of simulated fire origin and all occupants moved to a safe location (e.g. outside on sidewalk, etc.). The emphasis when conducting drills needs to be on safe and orderly evacuation rather than speed.