Fire drills are essential for ensuring the safety of students, staff, and visitors in schools. They help everyone understand the procedures to follow in case of a real fire, reducing panic and ensuring a swift, orderly evacuation. JCH Safety works with numerous schools across the Midlands, including in Birmingham and Coventry. Our clients often ask for assistance with how to conduct an effective fire drill in schools, particularly to help reduce the time it takes to complete a full evacuation of the premises. As a result, we thought it would be a good idea to write a blog to help inform senior school leaders how to carry out a fire drill.
Here’s a simple step-by-step guide on how schools should carry out a fire drill:
1. Planning and Preparation
- Develop a Fire Evacuation Plan: Create a detailed plan that includes evacuation routes, assembly points, and roles for staff members.
- Communicate the Plan: Ensure that all staff and students are familiar with the evacuation plan. This can be done through meetings, handouts, and classroom discussions. Remember to record that training has been provided.
- Assign Roles: Designate specific roles such as fire wardens/marshals, who will check that all areas are clear (sweep search), and teachers, who will lead their classes to safety.
2. Scheduling the Drill
- Choose a Suitable Time: Schedule the drill at a time that minimises disruption but ensures maximum participation. Avoid times when students are taking exams or during lunch breaks for the first fire drill of the academic year as this can cause confusion for students. However, as the academic year continues, consider carrying out a fire drill during a break time to ensure that suitable plans are in place.
- Inform Staff: Consider whether to let staff members know about the drill in advance or not. Again, at the start of the year, it is a good idea to let staff know so they can prepare their students of what to do and how to react calmly in an emergency. This is particularly important for SEN students who may need additional support. However, do not always inform students of the exact time to simulate a real emergency.
3. Executing the Drill
- Sound the Alarm: Trigger the fire alarm to start the drill. Ensure the alarm is loud and clear throughout the school. Don’t forget to start a timer, it is important to time how long a fire drill takes.
- Evacuate the Building: Students and staff should follow the designated evacuation routes calmly and quickly. Teachers should take attendance lists and ensure all students are accounted for. Each school has their own system for this so ensure that staff are trained about your particular procedure.
- Check All Areas: Fire wardens/ marshals should check classrooms, bathrooms, corridors, stairs and other areas to ensure no one is left behind.
- Assemble at Designated Points: Everyone should gather at the pre-determined assembly points. Teachers should take attendance again to ensure all students are present for safeguarding reasons.
4. Review and Improve
- Conduct a Debrief: After the drill, gather feedback from staff, fire wardens/ marshals and students. Discuss what went well and identify any issues that need addressing. Record the drill and contributions from those consulted.
- Update the Plan: Make necessary adjustments to the evacuation plan based on the feedback and any observed issues during the drill. Update training if required.
- Regular Drills: Schedule regular fire drills throughout the school year to keep everyone prepared and ensure the procedures remain effective.
5. Additional Tips
- Special Needs Considerations: Ensure that the evacuation plan accommodates students and staff with special needs. Assign buddies or staff members to assist them during the drill. Consider having separate fire assembly areas for students who need additional support.
- Clear Signage: Make sure all evacuation routes and assembly points are clearly marked with signs. Don’t forget to also provide external signage which directs people to the fire assembly areas. If you have multiple fire assembly areas, make sure that this is clearly marked with your emergency signage. Keep it as simple as you can!
- Fire Safety Education: Incorporate fire safety education into the curriculum to teach students about the importance of fire drills and how to respond in an emergency. This is a real life skill!
Remember, that the information obtained from the fire drill is vital for the fire risk assessor who assesses your property for fire risk. As a result, do keep good records. The lessons learnt are valuable.
By following these steps, schools and academies can ensure that their fire drills are effective and that everyone knows how to respond in the event of a real fire. Regular practice and continuous improvement are key to maintaining a safe school environment.
How can JCH Safety Help?
JCH Safety are specialist fire risk assessors and education health and safety consultants. We work across the Midlands and have a lot of experience in the education sector. We regularly work in colleges, primary and secondary schools, and for both the state and private education sectors. We even work with pre-school provision.
Feel free to share this blog with your school community to help enhance fire safety awareness! If you have any specific questions or need further details, just let us know.