Evacuation

The last one out of the room should not lock the door, just close it. Locking the door hinders the fire department's search and rescue efforts.

• Proceed to the exit as outlined in the Emergency Response Plan.
• NEVER, NEVER use elevators under any circumstances.
• Stay low to avoid smoke and toxic gases. The best air is close to the floor, so crawl if necessary.
• If possible, cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth to help you breathe.
• If you work in a building with multiple stories, a stairway will be your primary escape route. Most enclosed stairwells in buildings over two stories are "rated" enclosures and will provide you a safe means of exit; don't panic descend stairs slowly and carefully.
• Once in the stairwell, proceed down to the first floor. Never go up.
• Once outside the building, report to a predetermined area so that a head count can be taken.

If you're trying to escape a fire, never open a closed door without feeling it first. Use the back of your hand to prevent burning your palm. If the door is hot, try another exit. If none exists, seal the cracks around the doors and vents with anything available. If in a room, use wet towels to seal the space under the door and prevent the entry of smoke. Cracks around the door can be sealed with masking tape if necessary.

If trapped, look for a nearby phone and call the fire department, giving them your exact location.

If breathing is difficult, try to ventilate the room, but don't wait for an emergency to discover that window can't be opened. If on an upper floor and your window is of a type that CANNOT be opened, DON'T break it out- you'll be raining glass down on rescuers and people exiting the building. If you can't contact the fire department by phone, wave for attention at the window. Don't panic.

Policy on Emergency Evacuation

College procedure requires that all persons leave any facility where a fire alarm is activated as promptly as possible via the nearest available exit. In facilities without alarm systems, all persons must leave whenever it becomes clear that an emergency exists which necessitates evacuation for their own safety.

No one is expected to endanger him/herself in order to effect or assist with evacuation of others, but everyone has a duty to ensure that other occupants are aware of an emergency. Similarly, it is expected that individuals will aid anyone requiring assistance to safely evacuate.

Arrangements for Evacuation

Arrangements can be made to reasonably assure that assistance with evacuation is provided to anyone who is known to require it; contact the faculty or staff member in charge of the facility or area. When no prior arrangements are made, assistance may not be available at the time an emergency occurs.

Persons with disabilities may not be readily identifiable to others. Anyone with a disability not readily apparent should inform the person in charge of a facility that assistance with evacuation may be required to ensure it is available in the event of an emergency. When assistance arrangements are made, there is no requirement to make them public.

Responsibility for Arrangements

Arrangements for assistance are usually best accomplished through establishing a personal relationship between the individual requiring assistance and one or more of his/her peers in the form of a buddy plan. Redundant arrangements should be made to ensure the needed assistance is provided even when the primary provider is absent when an emergency occurs. Volunteers can usually be readily arranged. Assistance with making arrangements should be sought from the faculty or staff member responsible for the activity or area.

Evacuation and Alternatives

The emergency evacuation alarm systems in most facilities include visual and audible signalling devices which alert hearing impaired persons to alarm conditions.

Elevators cannot safely be used for emergency egress, and are typically programmed to cease operating when a fire alarm is activated. A wheelchair can constitute an unacceptable impedance to the ability of others using the stairway to evacuate, and may therefore have to be abandoned. There are specific techniques to enable two persons to safely carry a third while descending stairs, but these must be learned and practiced prior to an actual emergency and are therefore impractical for occupants of a transient nature such as students.

Areas of safe refuge have been identified within many facilities (typically inside the protected emergency egress stairways) which wheelchair users can reach on their own, and where they can safely await assistance from public safety personnel in a position which does not impede or prevent emergency egress by other occupants. Public safety personnel should be made aware of anyone needing assistance by other occupants who have evacuated. On campus, the stairway landing in most buildings is large enough to accommodate at least one wheelchair occupant and still be viable as a means of emergency egress for others. While not all stairways fully qualify as areas of safe refuge as defined by code, they are usually substantially safer than any other area of the building and much preferable to remaining in an area where exposure to heat, smoke, and products of combustion are a hazard. Pre-identifying and trying out an area of safe refuge is an acceptable alternative to assisted evacuation.