Page 40 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2017

FIRE SAFETY
Fire Alarm or Test?
Let’s work on designing and conducting tests and drills so that alarms are for emergencies and the employees respond in a safe and proper manner.
BY JOHN R. BENNETT
The sound of typing fingers on a computer keyboard. The laser printer printing copy af- ter copy of the latest hot financial report for the 9:30 a.m. board meeting. The sound of phones ringing and paper shuffling.
All of these sounds produce a rhythm to office life. This rhythm continues throughout the day, with the exception of the scheduled breaks and lunch. Very few interruptions to this concerto of work are tolerated.
A loud fire alarm starts its whining and the strobes start their blinding flashes of warning that a fire is im- minent. Or is it? No smoke is visible, and no one is go- ing for the exits. It could be that annoying annual test that someone forgot to warn everyone about over the intercom. It could be the annual drill, but this project is more important to the company than going outside to a collection point to be counted so the Safety Co- ordinator can make a note on his or her checklist that it was done—or even to compare the speed to that of other plants and last year, justifying their value and usefulness to executive management.
The fire alarms at the office in which I work just went off on their own yesterday. As I was going down
the hall to check the alarm display, other employees were coming my way, away from the exit, wanting to know whether there is a fire or not so that they can get back to work. Speaking with Wes, a fire systems technician from our third-party inspection compa- ny, we discussed the lack of response to fire alarms and the problems that scenario could cause. People are so caught up in the day-to-day rituals of work and life that their own safety is not as big a concern, or is it?
The alarm system is tested at least annually and then there is the annual fire drill—and drills are tak- ing place even more frequently for schools. We hear the alarm several times a year and, for the majority of soundings, no emergency is real. It appears that this has muted the desire to respond to the alarms. Is there anything we can do to take this back and get the cor- rect responses from the workers and save more lives?
Making Employees More Responsive
to Real Emergencies
Drills and testing of the alarms and systems are need- ed, but so are new and innovative ways to conduct
36 Occupational Health & Safety | MARCH 2017
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