Page 36 - Occupational Health & Safety, April 2019

FIRE SAFETY
Fire Safety: Prevention and Protection in the Office
Accounting for employees in the event of an emergency is vital. The Emergency Action Plan should address how to accurately account for all employees.
BY W. DAVID YATES
employees, and rescue and medical procedures. It is the employer’s responsibility to establish this plan; however, the employee has a responsibility to under- stand and participate in the plan and to make sugges- tions for improvement. After all, an employee’s life may depend on this plan.
Not every installation has an alarm system, or there may be areas where the alarm system is not effective, such as outside areas or in outbuildings. In these cases, it is necessary for the plan to address notification to those employees. In addition, the alarm system may have various sounds for different emergencies. Em- ployees should be aware of these differences.
The first priority of employees in the event of a fire is to immediately evacuate the facility and go to their designated assembly point. The plan must ad- dress designated emergency evacuation routes. It is part of an employee’s responsibilities to become fa- miliar with these routes. Furthermore, the employee should assist in making sure that the exits and routes are maintained in a manner free from obstruction. Employees also must familiarize themselves with a secondary route of escape in the event the first is blocked by fire.
One of the most overlooked aspects of any emer- gency action plan is that of employees and visitors with disabilities. In the event of a fire, elevators are programmed to close and go to the bottom floor to prevent employees from entering and becoming trapped in a fire. This means that one of the escape routes for the second and higher floors is via stair- wells. If an employee requires a wheelchair or crutch- es, they will need assistance in traversing the stairs. The EAP should not leave this to chance, but rather have designated employees responsible to assist.
Accounting for employees in the event of an emergency is vital. The EAP should address how to accurately account for all employees. Employees should always proceed to the assembly location and inform their supervisor or designated representative of their status.
Finally, in any emergency there is the poten- tial for injury to employees. The EAP should also identify first aid and medical responders. Medical response and/or first aid kits should be available inside and outside the building structures that are easily accessible to the designated medical respond- ers. In the event it is necessary to contact 911 ser- vices, employees should be designated to direct the responding teams to the location of the emergency.
Besides the obvious risks associated with 1.32 million fires reported in the United States that resulted in 3,400 deaths, 14,670 inju- ries, and more than $23 billion in property
loss, the number of reported fires is on the downward trend. (In 2008, the number of fires reported was ap- proximately 1.45 million.) While this is a noteworthy downward trend, fire-related deaths are on the rise. (USFA, 2017)
The majority of fires (77 percent) occur in the home, while the remaining 23 percent occur at work. (NFPA, 2017) This article will focus on what you, as an employee, can do to protect yourself and co-work- ers in the office. In addition, it will focus on specific steps that can be taken to prevent fires, as well as how to respond to fire emergencies.
Emergency Action Plans
One of the most important tasks that an employee can do regarding fire safety is to have a good work- ing knowledge of the organization’s emergency action plan (EAP). Every employee should be trained on the EAP at the beginning of their employment and as fre- quently as necessary to maintain familiarity with the procedures. At a minimum, the training should occur at least annually.
An EAP should consist of methods for notifying employees in the event of an emergency and report- ing an emergency, designated emergency evacuation routes and exits, procedures for assisting workers and visitors with disabilities, procedures to account for
32 Occupational Health & Safety | APRIL 2019
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