What To Do When A Fire Alarm Goes Off
It’s important to ensure you’re fire alarms are in the correct place and are working well, however, you also need to know what to do when the alarm goes off. To keep yourself safe, you need to be calm and try not to panic. You should always follow the building’s specific procedures if you’re at work or out and about, but here is some general guidance on what you should do when the alarm sounds.
What to do
This guidance can be followed no matter what building you’re in and what their procedures are:
- Be fast
As soon as the fire alarm goes off, you need to act quickly and evacuate the building promptly. Fires spread fast, so leave the building calmly and quickly. Look around for fire exits and emergency lighting.
- Make your way to the fire assembly point
When you’re outside the building, you need to head to the fire assembly point, if there is one. This might be a nearby car park, it’s important you go there so everyone can be accounted for; people might think you’re still inside the building.
- Keep escape routes clear
Whilst you might feel panicked as you leave the building, don’t block escape routes like stairs and corridors as this can hinder others from escaping.
- Shut fire doors
Similarly, ensuring fire doors are shut can help withstand fire and smoke, allowing more people to get to safety as they slow the spread of fire.
What not to do
- Go back into the building
Once you’ve left, you shouldn’t go back inside, even if you think the fire has stopped. You should wait until emergency services arrive so they can ensure it’s safe.
- Use a lift
Whilst using a lift might be quicker, the safest way to leave a building in the event of a fire is by using stairs. A lift could get stuck and even trap you, walking is a safer option when evacuating.
- Try to put it out
For large fires, you should leave the extinguishing to the professionals, as it’s extremely dangerous. You don’t want to injure yourself, put others at risk or make the fire worse.
- Get belongings
Understandably, you might want to get your belongings but you shouldn’t stop or get them, you need to evacuate first! Material things can be replaced but you can’t, focus on getting yourself to safety.
We hope these tips will help you keep yourself safe if there’s a fire. Here at Fire Stoppers, we can install and test fire alarms on your premises, we’re third-party checked-in fire alarm maintenance by BAFE. We offer a range of radio and wireless systems and can work with you to find an option that works for your business and 24/7 monitoring of your system. Want to find out more? Head to our website!
For more fire safety help and advice, take a look at our blog page.
