Revive Church Fire Evacuation and Escape Plan
In the Event of a Fire all staff, volunteers and visitors to the building should follow the below procedure. We also have trained fire marshals within our various areas who will where possible assist with the safe evacuation of the building.
ON DISCOVERING A FIRE – Raise the alarm, if necessary, there are fire alarm manual call points, at the bottom of the stairs near the bottom of the stairs fire door and the alarm can also be raised at the fire panel located near the front door.
The church is fitted with smoke detector heads as marked on the wall plan which should automatically sound the alarm when smoke is detected. The zone where the smoke has been detected will be identified on the fire panel so the person of responsibility, usually one of the fire marshals should check which zone the alarm has been activated and if it is safe to do so ascertain if it is a false alarm or if there is a fire. Regardless of this when the alarm is activated outside of a test an evacuation should take place.
Phone 999 to notify the Fire Brigade of the fire where there is one. Only use Fire Fighting equipment if you are trained to do so, you understand how they work, and you feel that you can safely do so without putting yourself or others in additional risk. There is alarm sounders both upstairs and downstairs, and there is also a strobe light alarm for those who may not be able to hear an alarm fitted in the disabled toilet. Persons who are known to be hearing impaired should be advised to use the disabled toilet where possible.
ON HEARING THE FIRE ALARM – Or being notified evacuate the building via the highlighted route on the building plans, this is available to view in every room and at every exit. Do not collect personal belongings. If the electrics fail, emergency lighting will operate to help guide you in your escape.
The key escape routes out of the main building are at the back of the church through the main front door and for downstairs at the bottom of the stairs there is a double fire door. If you are in the office there is an additional door with the key located on the bench next to the door. The fire meeting point is across the road in the carpark adjacent to the flats. Please do not stop to collect personal belongings.
In an emergency downstairs where the corridor is blocked due to fire the marshal should call to the upstairs marshal to ensure that the fire brigade is on the way, if necessary and fire is immediately outside the rooms and they cannot evacuate safely to the fire doors the windows can be opened in all of the rooms to allow escape but this should only be done if the corridor to the back fire door is not accessible.
During a service or group the leaders or Fire Marshal should take a registration of who they have in their room to correctly help account for people after evacuation. An accurate head count should be taken for all gatherings – using the clicker at the front door for larger gatherings to get an overall number, but within smaller groups the person leading should assist in the evacuation of those in their care and be able to say if the correct number of people has been safely evacuated using a register or by having an understanding of who is in attendance.
If the fire is electrical and it is safe to do so you can isolate the supply the box is in the small grey cupboard near the connections desk upstairs.
The Senior Fire Marshal on duty for gatherings and services will do a visual check of the church building prior to the start of a service, those on duty for the service should remain vigilant for signs of fire, hazards and debris that left unattended could cause a fire. In the event of a fire or alarm sounding.
Fire Marshals on duty for downstairs rooms should coordinate with the other children’s leaders or ministry heads to help safely evacuate out of the fire escape. A visual sweep of rooms not in use including the storeroom and the toilets should be carried out along with audible shouting to see if anyone needs assistance where it is safe to do so. Children should stay with their group leaders at the assembly point and not go to their parents so that an accurate register can take place, if the building is declared safe they should return to the class room to be re-registered and then collected by parents to ensure children are fully accounted for.
On a Sunday or large family gathering there will be fire marshals assigned to sweep and assist upstairs and downstairs. Upstairs the fire Marshalls will ensure everyone exits by the nearest exit – ensuring that anyone with a PEEP is assisted where necessary. A sweep of the toilets and unseen areas will be conducted if safe to do so.
During smaller gatherings, community events and other building use for church activities the ministry leader or trained fire marshal on team should take responsibility at the start of the event to perform a visual check of the building and to check for signs of fire, hazards and debris left unattended that could cause a fire. The Fire marshal or ministry lead should discuss with their team and coordinate any evacuation that needs to take place. Regardless of building use someone should be assigned to sweep and check downstairs, and someone upstairs with where possible a third person identified to assist with directing people to the assembly point.
A visual sweep of all rooms including those not in use should be carried out along with audible shouting to see if anyone needs assistance where it is safe to do so. The lead should be the last person to leave the building where they should let the team and any fire fighters who have attended that the building is clear and any other information pertinent such as which zone was activated/ the location of the fire. The Senior fire marshal where safe to do so will also take the fire folder out from the front door.
Once everyone is at the fire meeting point a head count will be taken and the senior fire marshal or ministry leader will meet with the Fire Brigade on their arrival about which zone was activated, if all people are accounted for and they will have any relevant fire documentation available as necessary. The red fire documentation folder is kept above the fire panel. Other Fire Marshals should report to the Senior Fire Marshal with information about the evacuation at the Fire assembly point.