How To: Choose an Emergency Assembly Area
Are you choosing the best site for an evacuation?
Emergency evacuations are often conducted in circumstances where there is panic and confusion, but the premise of an Emergency Assembly Area is simple:
To get every person inside a facility to an area of relative safety as quickly as possible; and
To allow the Chief Warden to conduct a head count to determine whether there are still people in the facility where the emergency has taken place.
So how can you best choose an area that allows for these two functions to be fulfilled?
We’ve got a few tips that will get you there in no time.
Tip #1 - The journey is just as important as the location
That’s right. How people get to the Emergency Assembly Area is just as important as the location. Consider any obstacles that might prevent people from accessing the Emergency Assembly Area. Is there a major road nearby? An unpathed route that may present difficulties for people with limited mobility? Can everyone in the facility access the Emergency Assembly Area in under 6 minutes?
In an ideal scenario access should be free of any obstacles and close enough that it is in a line of sight to the facility where the emergency has taken place (if circumstances permit). This allows the space to be accessible and prevents people getting lost - reducing the risk of unnecessary search operations when emergency services personnel arrive.
Tip # 2 - It should be able to fit the entire occupancy of the facility, plus emergency services personnel
Emergency services personnel will often congregate where an Emergency Assembly Area is located to liaise with the Chief Warden, understand the status of missing persons and triage patients. The area must be big enough to account for the number of occupants in the facility and then some without disrupting any surrounding areas, or putting evacuees in danger. Again the position of roads in relation to Emergency Assembly Areas are important here - it must be accessible but should not put people congregating at risk.
Tip #3 - You need to have a Plan B
When an emergency takes place sometimes the best laid plans need to be rethought quickly. If your primary Emergency Assembly Area is compromised by an existing emergency, the occupants in your facility should immediately know the location of the secondary Emergency Assembly Area, and the best route to get there as quickly as possible.
Your primary and secondary Emergency Assembly Areas must be clearly marked on the building’s evacuation diagrams and should be detailed in your Facility Emergency Plan.
Still not sure if you’ve got the right location? Contact our team today for advice on Emergency Assembly Areas and more.