Purpose

To ready building occupants for the evacuation of a building during a fire or related building emergency.

Fire drills will be used as an avenue to:

• Assess the occupants’ knowledge of drill procedures, location of fire exits, and the sound of the fire alarm.
• Identify problems with fire alarm components.
• Monitor the evacuation of the building.
• Provide information on the amount of time it takes to evacuate a building

Responsibilities

 

Campus Safety Director, Facilities Director

Shall ensure that pre-planned drills are conducted at least once per Academic Year for each occupied building utilized by Baker College. On campuses with student housing, fire drills are conducted in all on-campus student housing facilities once each semester, within 21 days of the start of the semester. One of the drills must be held between sunset and sunrise. All drills must be conducted while school is in session. The Campus Safety Department is responsible for scheduling, conducting, and maintaining records of the drills which include the date, time, location and the official conducting the drill.

The Fire Prevention Code, PA 207 of 1941, Section 29.19a requires that all instructional staff be trained in fire drill procedures before the beginning of each academic year.

This training will be conducted by the Campus Safety Director or designee at the Fall Faculty Symposium held prior to the beginning of classes. This training will also be provided in a similar manner to all new faculty at new faculty orientations held throughout the year.

 

Faculty

Faculty will communicate this policy to students so that they may follow the guidelines associated with fire drills and building evacuations.

Faculty will educate their students on the first day of class each semester (and include in their syllabus) about the following measures to take before a drill or emergency:

Faculty will identify the quickest escape route from their classroom along with a secondary route in case the primary route is inaccessible. Evacuation routes are posted in each classroom near the door.

Faculty will identify a location outside and away from the building where the class can meet to ensure all students are accounted for. Reassembly areas are posted in each classroom near the door.

Faculty will ensure that emergency personnel are aware of persons with disabilities that may need assistance. In multi-story buildings, person(s) with disabilities should be directed to fire protected stairwells (Area of Refuge) to await assistance from emergency personnel, if unable to otherwise evacuate the building.

Faculty will review this information with each class at the beginning of each semester.

In the event of a fire alarm, Faculty will follow the Fire Alarm Evacuation Procedure;

 

Evacuate the building

Assemble the students at the designated reassembly area.

Report student status (missing, injured) to Campus Safety or appropriate emergency personnel.

 

Building Occupants

Defined as every person in a Baker College owned or leased building.

Occupants shall evacuate the building in an orderly manner and shall congregate at the designated reassembly site.

Occupants shall not re-enter the building until a verbal “All Clear” is signaled by Campus Safety or appropriate emergency personnel.

Persons with disabilities shall, if unable to evacuate from the building, go to the designated Area of Refuge (stairwell) for assistance in exiting the building.

 

Emergency Personnel

Emergency personnel are designated to be Campus Safety and Facilities personnel as well as any other first responder on scene.

Emergency personnel will assist in building searches to ascertain that all occupants have vacated the premises.

Emergency Personnel will issue an “All Clear” when it is appropriate for occupants to re-enter the building.

 

NOTE: In the event of an actual emergency, the on scene Fire Commander will give an “All Clear” so that occupants may re-enter the building. This will be handled in a manner deemed appropriate by the Fire Officers and relayed by Campus Safety and/or Facilities personnel at the scene.

 

Reporting Requirements

Fire alarm systems found to be non-functional shall be noted and reported to Facilities for repair.

A record of all drills conducted will be maintained by the Campus Safety Director or designee.

 

NON-COMPLIANCE

According to the National Fire Protection Association Standard, NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, Section 3.2.2, “Drills shall include suitable procedures to ensure all persons subject to the drill participate.” The fire drill plan covers all persons in the building, and everyone must leave the building during the drill period. Any person failing to comply with fire drill procedures is subject to being escorted out of the building by Campus Safety.

The Campus Safety Director or designee shall report incidents of employee non-compliance to the employee’s immediate supervisor for further review and corrective action.

The Campus Safety Director or designee shall report incidents of student non-compliance to the Vice President of Student Services for consideration of corrective or disciplinary action.