Emergencies take us by surprise, and without proper preparedness, they can wreak havoc on the lives of everyone involved. This is especially true for large residential properties, like multi-story blocks of flats. Without a proper building evacuation plan, rescuing residents of all ages and abilities in an emergency becomes challenging.
Having comprehensive evacuation strategies for high-rise and high-risk buildings is a legal requirement. There’s also growing focus on personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs), especially in high-rise buildings for people with disabilities, who may find it difficult to evacuate quickly in the face of an emergency like fire, flooding, or structural issues.
At Habitare, we provide proactive inspections and repairs to help you avoid accidents due to negligence in your block property, and if something unexpected happens, we’ll be one of the first on-site. Get in touch to learn more.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at the key components and challenges of a building emergency evacuation plan.
What Should An Emergency Action Plan Include?
Let’s begin by addressing everything that you should include in your emergency evacuation plan:
1. Clear Escape Routes and Exit Signage
It is the duty of the responsible person(s) and RMC directors to ensure the emergency exits, hallways and stairwells remain unobstructed. This helps residents exit the building faster, and gives emergency responders easy access to access different parts of the building with minimal disruption. Your building’s floor plan and illuminated exit signs must be displayed in key locations within the building.
An emergency action plan must include provisions for alternate escape routes if the primary escape route is inaccessible or blocked.
2. Fire Safety Procedures
Proper fire safety processes must be followed in residential buildings to reduce the likelihood of emergencies and minimise damage to life and property. RMCs and RTMs must install and maintain fire alarms and smoke detectors as part of their property maintenance duties.
You should also check fire doors periodically to make sure they’re opening and closing properly, which is essential to stop the spread of fire. Fire extinguishers must be installed at regular intervals, and your residents should be aware of how to use them.
3. Designated Assembly Points
Your building evacuation plan should also include a safe meeting point where residents should assemble after leaving the building. This location should be some distance from the building, but not too far off.
You’ll need to communicate the meeting point to every resident (freeholders, leaseholders, and/or tenants). The RMC can appoint a few responsible block residents to oversee the evacuation procedures.
4. Emergency Contact Information
As an RMC director, you must ensure all your residents have a digital and physical copy of emergency contact details. This includes the generic emergency number (999), as well as the numbers for an emergency company service, property managers, RMC directors, and the responsible person(s). This list should be updated periodically as necessary.
You should also have a contact list of vulnerable and mobility-impaired residents so they can be easily contacted in an emergency situation. Block managers and building security personnel should be easily reached if an emergency occurs. At Habitare, our team offers 24/7 emergency service, so we’re only ever a call away when you need us.
5. Drills and Resident Surgeries
As part of your building emergency evacuation plan and fire risk assessment, you must conduct regular fire drills under different mock scenarios, so all your property’s residents are familiar with the procedure. This will help you reduce confusion and commotion in an emergency situation.
Your building’s evacuation strategy, guidelines, and maps must also be shared with all residents. Regular safety meetings must be conducted to educate all block residents about best practices to be followed during an emergency; you can also gather leaseholder inputs and feedback during these meetings.
6. Lift and Electrical Safety
The safety of your property’s lifts is a key consideration that must be included in the building emergency plan. You should work with a contracted electrician to ensure all lifts return to ground level when a fire breaks out or flooding happens. Your residents should be aware that they shouldn’t use lifts in an emergency, as they can easily malfunction, leading to loss of life.
Emergency lights, which can work without electricity, must be installed in your building’s stairwells and hallways. A backup power source must be maintained away from the building, which can help to power critical building resources.
Now that we’ve covered the key components of a building evacuation plan, let’s discuss some of the challenges RMCs face during its execution.
Challenges Faced By RMCs in Emergency Evacuation Planning
Here are some of the challenges RMCs might face while implementing evacuation strategies:
- Some residents might be non-cooperative. For example, they might avoid attending meetings and ignore fire drills and safety notices.
- Residents and on-site staff might often store items in hallways and staircases, blocking the escape routes.
- New residents and tenants may be unfamiliar with the building evacuation plan. It’s essential that you share this vital information alongside the lease or tenancy agreement.
- Many high-rise buildings lack PEEP for elderly or disabled individuals, making it challenging to evacuate these vulnerable people during an emergency.
Best Practices for Effective Building Emergency Evacuation Plan
Here are a few best practices to ensure your block’s evacuation strategies comply with the latest government regulations.
Your outlined rescue strategies must be reviewed annually or after any building modifications or structural changes, so you can be certain there are no loopholes in the evacuation plan for building. This is also the time to incorporate any critical feedback offered by residents or fire safety professionals into your plan.
If you are unsure about the necessary safety procedures or you need extra help, ask fire risk assessment experts to inspect your block’s safety measures. This will help you confirm that you’re complying with the latest government regulations.
The best way to deal with emergencies and reduce the threat to life and property is by having clear communication. Use digital communication channels to update your residents about emergency contact details, the latest fire drill dates and meetings, and other important information. You may need to provide these instructions in multiple languages, so they’re still clear for people who may lack an in-depth understanding of the English language.
Contact Habitare for Out-of-Hours Emergency Assistance
If you’re struggling to create an effective building evacuation plan, contact Habitare for professional assistance. As a leading block property management company, we help RMCs and RTMs effectively and efficiently discharge their property management duties.
Our team offers proactive inspections and remedial repairs and maintenance to help greatly reduce the risk of any emergency on your property. In the event that something happens, our block managers are available to respond quickly to the situation, no matter the time of day.
Our team also offers support with resident communication and on-site staff management, as well as ensuring your building complies with regulations.
For more information, connect with us today.