Prioritise training to ensure a safe evacuation

Prioritise training to ensure a safe evacuation

Ensuring an individual emergency evacuation plan is in place is paramount, but even the most comprehensive plan becomes redundant unless premises managers ensure people are correctly trained in how to adhere to them. Without holding regular training sessions, communication exercises and reviewing the personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEP) of those with mobility problems, any adopted procedures become redundant, and peoples’ lives are put at risk in the event of an emergency, such as a fire.

Evidence from a recent survey of 200 businesses by Evac+Chair International highlights that 40% of respondents own evacuation chairs but don’t incorporate them into emergency evacuation training. The results also reveal a high number of organisations that have lost their trained employee responsible for health and safety equipment. Even though 73% of respondents have now hired replacements to the post, worryingly, 40% of this proportion are not yet trained in using essential equipment such as evacuation chairs.

Familiarity is the crux of any emergency evacuation plan, and if this is properly disseminated and supported with robust training techniques, an evacuation plan will achieve its full potential in the event of an emergency.

OTHER ARTICLES

Our Accreditations