Building Operating Management September 2011 - FacilitiesNet

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buildingoperatingmanagement
SEPTEMBER 2011
What occupant characteristics can affect the way a
given building population will respond in a fire? Beyond
the ones just mentioned, important characteristics can include:
age; gender; level of alertness; physical and cognitive
ability; building population and density; and the activity
performed by occupants at the time of the emergency.
Understanding all of these human characteristics
can be very helpful when developing and implementing
a facility’s emergency plan. Although occupant characteristics
cannot be changed, effective emergency planning
will increase the likelihood that building occupants
will evacuate to a safe location when there is a building
emergency. Accordingly, when planning for an emergency,
every plan should focus on nullifying specific human
characteristics that may hinder an effective building
evacuation. For example, if a facility has occupants who
aren’t regular visitors to the building, the emergency plan
should include the important role that staff has in assisting
occupants who are not familiar with the building.
Once this emergency plan is implemented, it is important
that periodic drills be performed so that staff can
become familiar with the plan.
qDo Not Assume That People
WIll Evacuate Just Because a
Fire Alarm Sounds
2.
Typically, when a fire alarm system is activated in a public
building, the response to the alarm is slow, if the alarm
is not ignored entirely. Why? Sometimes occupants fail to
recognize the signal or are unaware of the proper response;
sometimes they just don’t hear the signal. Nuisance alarms
also decrease system credibility.
One of the foremost roles of a building’s fire alarm system
is to initiate evacuation and ensure that sufficient time
is available for the occupants to get out of a building before
conditions become untenable. There are several steps that
can be taken to increase the likelihood that occupants will
respond immediately to a fire alarm signal.
First, when selecting a fire alarm/emergency communication
system for a building, consider a system that notifies
occupants through voice communications. To ensure
a successful evacuation in an emergency, people need information.
They want to know what the problem is, what
When selecting a fire alarm/emergency communication system, consider
one that notifies occupants through voice communications
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