Transcript EMERGENCY EVACUATION IN THE WORKPLACE

WHAT’S THE BEST
WAY OUT?
Mike Larabel
Chief of Fire Protection
Amway Inc.
AGENDA
 DEFINITIONS – GLOSSARY
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 WHERE ARE WE AT NOW
 WHAT IS THE BEST WAY OUT?
DEFINITIONS
 EMERGENCY
 LIFE SAFETY CODE 101
 MEANS OF EGRESS
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EXIT ACCESS
EXIT
EXIT DISCHARGE
 EGRESS COMPONENTS
What is an emergency?
 An “emergency” is an event that jeopardizes
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The occupants of a building
The building
The contents of the building
 Types of emergencies
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Natural
Human based
Life Safety Code - 101
 National Fire Protection Association – NFPA
 1913 – Committee on Safety to Life
 1927 – Building Exits Code
 1966 – Code for Safety from Fire in Buildings
and Structures
 1981 – Organization of modern Code.
 Current edition consists of 43 Chapters plus
Annexes – explanatory material
Means of Egress
 Exit Access – “That portion of a means of egress that
leads to an exit.” (101)
 Exit – “That portion of a means of egress that is
separated from all other spaces of a building or
structure by construction or equipment as required to
provide a protected way of travel to the exit
discharge.” (101)
 Exit Discharge – “That portion of a means of egress
between the termination of an exit and a public way.”
(101)
Egress Components
 Doors
 Swinging
 Non-swinging – revolving, rolling, sliding
 Floors
 Level
 Sloped
 Locking mechanisms
 Turnstiles
 Force to Open
 Stairs
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Iroquois Theatre – Chicago, IL
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12/30/1903 – 602 – Deadliest bldg. fire
Fire Proof – Mr. Blue Beard, Jr.
Outward door swing in Assembly
 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory – NY, NY
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3/25/1911 – 146 Workers (mostly women)
Improved factory safety standards
Int. Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Cocoanut Grove – Boston, MA
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11/28/1942 – 492
Remote egress, Interior Finish
 Winecoff Hotel – Atlanta, GA
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12/7/1946 – 119
Stairway enclosure
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Barnum & Bailey Circus – Hartford, CT
 7/6/1944 – 168 Lives Lost
 Flame retardant tents
 MGM Grand Hotel Fire – Las Vegas, NV
 November 21, 1980 – 85 Lives Lost
 Strengthened fire safety laws for sprinklers
and interior finish
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Hamlet Chicken Processing Plant – Hamlet, NC
 9/3/1991 – 25 killed, 54 injured (Locked doors)
 Improved worker safety laws
 Station Nightclub Fire - West Warwick, NJ
 2/19/2003 – 100 deaths
 TIA’s – Improved requirements for sprinklers
Station Nightclub Fire
 http://www.boonex.us/video/gallery/Great-
White-The-Station-nightclub-fire-WestWarwick-Rhode-Island-/
Getting OUT!!
 Provide employee alarm system
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Creatures of Habit – The Herd Effect
 Train evacuation assistants
 Review plan
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Initially
When employee responsibility changes
When plan changes
Emergency Notification
What methods are
used to alert
occupants of an
emergency?
Emergency Messages
 What do the alarms mean?
 What actions are you expected to take?
 Who issues voice instructions?
Why should I believe the
alarm or emergency
information message?
Perception
 What is the perception of the problem?
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Do employees perceive there truly is a
problem?
Do we practice what we preach?
Fire Wardens – arm band & helmet
What do other employees think?
Occupant Protection Concepts
 Evacuate
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Total
Staged
Relocation to safe
area within the
building
 Defend or protect
in-place
Area of Refuge
 A temporary staging area that provides relative safety to its
occupants while
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Potential emergencies are assessed
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Decisions are made
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Mitigating activities are begun
A stage between egress from the
immediately threatened area and
the evacuation of the building .
Defend/Protect In Place
up
down
E
E
down
up
Principles of Exit Safety
 At least two ways out
 Exits are within a reasonable travel distance
 Egress paths are
 Well marked
 Well lighted
 Unobstructed
 Evacuation training and drills provided
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Occupied Building
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Open to the public
Open for general occupancy
10 or more employees present
 Door Swing
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Exterior Exit Doors swing outward – direction
of egress
Room doors may swing inward – unless
occupant capacity of 50 or more
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Locking mechanisms
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Key operated locks
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Single Motion – Non-locking against egress
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Only certain occupancies
Signs indicating door to remain unlocked
Main entrance only
Knob, lever, panic hardware
Delayed egress
Security controlled – Card Access
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Self closing – automatic closing devices
 Hold Open - electromagnetic
 Coordinators
 Astragals
 Powered Door Leaf
 Stairs
 7 X 11
 Change of direction
 Area of refuge
 Landings
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Capacity of Means of Egress
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Based on Occupant Load, # of exits, etc.
Capacity factor – Health Care 0.3, 0.6, All
others 0.2
Minimum width – 36 inches
 Number of means of egress
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Generally 2 minimum – remote
Single exit allowed in certain conditions
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Arrangement
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“Readily accessible at all times”
Access to two different paths of travel
Room to corridor
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Dead ends
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Existing room to room to corridor/exit
Not permitted – except by chapter – may be 20 to
50 feet in length
Not through kitchens, closets, storage,
workroom, bedrooms, etc.
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Arrangement – con’t.
 Cannot obscure exit – curtains, hangings, art,
mirrors, etc.
 Measurement of travel distance
 Based on occupancy requirement
 Measured along path of travel
 AGPH –
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75’/125’ to guest room door
100’/200’ guest room to exit
100’/150’ exit enclosure to exterior door to public
way
MEANS OF EGRESS
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Industrial - General
 200 feet unsprinkled
 250 feet sprinkled
 Termination of exits
 Public way
 Exit discharge that leads to public way
 Illumination of means of egress
 Illuminate access, exit, discharge
 Stairs 10 ft. candle
 Other 1 ft. candle
 Performances 0.2 ft. candle
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Emergency Lighting
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Minimum of 1 ½ hours
1 ft. candle
Automatic in the event of power loss
Emergency generator or battery pack
Testing on a regular basis
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Every 30 days
Annually – 1 ½ hours
Maintain records
MEANS OF EGRESS
 Exit signs required unless “obviously and
clearly are identifiable as an exit.”
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Exit signs must be illuminated
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Internally or externally
Tactile signage required in new construction
Floor proximity egress path marking
Along exit access – 100 feet
Change in direction
Photoluminescent/nuclear powered signs
permitted
MEANS OF EGRESS
 NO Exit
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Doors that do not lead to exit or exit access
must be labeled
 Exit Sign Testing
How long will it take?
 Complete evacuation may require a
significant amount of time
 Evacuation from large buildings can be
physically exhausting
 It could slow emergency responders who may
need the stairs to reach the problem
Reporting an Emergency
 Time is critical
 Report emergencies
rapidly
 Know the procedures for
your building
 Use the best available
means of communication
Your Responsibility
 Keep the exits clear
 No storage or other use within the exit
 Do not compromise fire protection and
alarm systems
 Promptly report problems with exits or
systems to building management
Protecting Yourself
 Do you know how to react if you are faced
with an emergency?
 Could you protect yourself and others
around you in an extraordinary event?
 Self reliance – 72 Hr. response time
When all else fails, you are
ultimately responsible for your
own safety!
Protecting Yourself
 1,602,000 fires – 3,675 civilian deaths –
3,105 deaths in structures, majority in
residential structures.
 Fire drills in our homes
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We tell ‘em good, but we don’t show them
well.
Holler at each other
 Conditioned to the same route