September is Emergency Preparedness Month, and we’re helping you prepare for any situation with a series of articles and webinars that dive into some of the most common emergencies: severe weather, emergency evacuation, emergency lockdown, and fire.

In this second article of our Emergency Preparedness Series, we’re looking at emergency evacuation and how you can create a comprehensive plan that accounts for everyone’s safety. With severe weather in mind from last week’s webinar and current events on the West Coast, we’ll talk specifically about evacuating during a natural disaster event.

Create an Emergency Evacuation Plan

To ensure everyone in your organization receives every emergency evacuation notification and understands the action required, start with creating an evacuation plan that meets three goals:

1. The Plan is Tailor Made to Your Organization

It’s tempting to take shortcuts for organizational projects like evacuation plans. Surely some other company has done what you need to do and you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, right?  Well, sort of. Checking out evacuation plans from other organizations is a good place to start, but don’t end your planning there. Every organization is different, and every site is unique. 

Start with a map of your building or campus and create a site-specific plan. Be sure to look at how occupants in each building, each floor in those buildings, and each odd situation (such as elevators, stairwells, parking areas, and restrooms) will be notified, and consider their evacuation route. Also, consider locations of exits, safe areas of assembly, and how you’ll communicate with occupants outside of the building in the event they need to move further away, or it’s safe to re-enter the building. 

During this phase of planning, you’ll also want to think about exit routes and make sure they’re as clearly marked and unobstructed as possible. Exit areas should always be well lit, wide enough to accommodate emergency exits and those with physical disabilities, clear of debris, and designed to keep personnel safe from additional hazards such as falling debris, etc.

2. Everyone in Your Organization Knows the Plan

Emergency procedures should be designed to keep everyone in your organization safe, from the janitorial staff to the C-suite. You can ensure safety by informing and training everyone on the evacuation plan. 

Creating a clear chain of command and communication starts with having a designated person authorized to order an evacuation, and a team of responsible, trained individuals who can supervise and coordinate evacuation training and activities for a safe and successful emergency evacuation. All building occupants should know who’s in charge during an evacuation to avoid confusion and chaos.

Designate safe spaces for congregating outside of your building — whether that’s beyond the perimeter of the facility or campus, or simply out in the parking lot. Here, evacuation leaders can take attendance, give first aid or direct people to medical personnel, and get more details on what happened in different parts of the facility. This information gathering can be crucial for everyone’s safety and to direct emergency personnel to the right place if needed.

After the leadership and location are chosen, it’s time to decide how you’ll communicate your plan with everyone — ensuring no one is left behind. We recommend using a National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, or NFPA 72, compliant  emergency mass notification system (MNS), such as the Alertus System.  

In addition to integrating with your current communication, whether it be desktop computers, digital signage, fire alarm panels, or VoIP phones, the Alertus System can provide both audible and visual notification across existing endpoints using solutions like Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology and the Alertus Alert Beacon. With these intelligible notification tools, you could send out a customized message such as: “A fire has been reported on the sixth floor. Please evacuate the building immediately using the west stairwell and assemble in parking lot D.” During a time-sensitive emergency, this comprehensive mass notification approach is key to not only alerting everyone about the emergency, but also providing them with clear instructions on exactly how and where to evacuate safely.

3. The Plan is Proven to Work Before It’s Needed

The plan is in place, but does it work? Training employees and personnel on the evacuation plan should include visitors, students, customers, and anyone else who might be in your facility during an emergency. Plans should be evaluated and tested annually to make sure new building occupants know what to do. And, of course, the building should be clearly marked with “EXIT” signs and building maps with evacuation routes to stay compliant with OSHA evacuation standards.

OSHA standards for an emergency evacuation plan also include a means of reporting emergencies, procedures for those who must operate critical operations before evacuation, and protocols to account for all employees and occupants after an evacuation. They also specifically recommend having ADA-compliant notification systems for employees with disabilities to ensure no one is left behind.

Want to learn more about preparing for an emergency evacuation?

Check out Alertus’ webinar: Prepare for an Emergency Evacuation with Alertus to learn how to create a comprehensive emergency evacuation plan, how to implement a clear chain of communication, and how to leverage your Alertus Mass Notification System when you need it most.