S 6.17 Alert plan and fire drills

Initiation responsibility: Agency/company management; site fire protection officer

Implementation responsibility: Site fire protection officer

It is necessary to prepare plans for the measures to be taken in case of fire. Such a plan must lay down, for instance,

• what measures are to be taken against what incidents;

• whether, and how, parts of buildings might have to be evacuated (persons and equipment);

• who must be informed;

• which emergency services must be notified.

The alert plan may be complemented by rules of conduct in case of fire, of which all staff members must be informed. For details, cf. Chapter 3.3 Contingency Planning.

However, the best conceivable alert plan will be of little use unless it has been ensured that the listed measures are appropriate and practicable. Thus, the alert plan must be reviewed and up-dated on a continuing basis. One of such review measures is to organise fire drills.

Example:

A fire drill carried out in a 21-storey office building in Bonn in the autumn of 1993 showed that many staff members did not know where to find a fire extinguisher or where the staircase was located. In the actual event, such ignorance can lead to disaster. The fire drill was disregarded by some who, out of indolence, chose not to leave their rooms.

Special importance should be attached, in particular, to fire drills which can protect both IT assets and human lives. Scheduling of such exercises must be co-ordinated in advance with the agency/ company management.

Additional controls:

• What were the results of the last fire drill?