After Evacuation

In the case of an emergency requiring evacuation of a facility, another important aspect to include in emergency plans is where occupants should go and gather in order to determine that everyone has safely left the building. To ensure the fastest, most accurate accountability of building occupants, consider including these steps in your emergency action plan:

  • Designate assembly areas or areas, both inside and outside of the building, where people should gather after evacuating. Assembly locations within the building are often referred to as “areas of refuge.” Make sure your assembly area has sufficient space to accommodate everyone. Exterior assembly areas, used when the building must be partially or completely evacuated, are typically located in parking lots or other open areas.
  • Take a head count after the evacuation. Identify the names and last known locations of anyone not accounted for and pass them to the officials in charge. Accounting for all building occupants following an evacuation is critical. Confusion in the assembly areas can lead to delays in rescuing anyone trapped in the building or unnecessary search-and-rescue operations.
  • Establish a method for accounting for individuals who may not be residents of the facility.
  • Establish procedures for further evacuation in case the incident expands. This may consist of sending people off campus by normal means or providing them with transportation to an offsite location.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management June 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Enjoy Tax and Energy Savings with the Right Ceiling Solutions

    Thanks to recent innovations pairing mineral fiber ceiling panels with phase change material technology (PCM), architects, designers, facility managers, and other key players in construction and renovation projects are re-thinking the role ceilings play in supporting environmental objectives—especially energy savings.

  • AP Construction Breaks Ground on Two Projects for Austin ISD

    Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) recently announced that it has broken ground on two renovation projects for the Austin Independent School District, according to a news release. The work at McCallum and Anderson High Schools totals 97,350 square feet and is scheduled for completion in January 2027.

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

Digital Edition