Evacuation or Stay Put? – Why it’s important to know the difference
When a fire breaks out, knowing what to do can make all the difference.
If you live or work in a building with other people, it’s crucial to understand whether you should evacuate or stay put.
The decision can depend on things like:
- What type of building you’re in (e.g., a flat, office block, etc.)
- The fire safety systems in place (e.g., alarms, fire doors)
- The fire strategy for your building (Evacuate or Stay Put)
For buildings such as flats or shared spaces, the strategy is usually either to evacuate or stay put. Understanding which one applies to your situation is vital for your safety.
A fire risk assessment is key to making sure these procedures are clear, updated, and fit for purpose.
In this blog, we’ll explain the difference between these two fire strategies and what factors influence the fire safety rules for your building.
What are the two types of fire strategy?
Evacuate
In the event of a fire in the communal areas (the parts you share with the other occupants) or the flats, you should get out.
There should be some form of detection and sounder in these areas. If these activate, then all occupants must get out of the building.
If you discover a fire in a communal area or your flat, there may be some manual call points. These are the red boxes on the walls (see picture), where you break the glass to push a button to activate the alarm.
You can use these to warn all other occupants, or in the case of smaller premises, you might need to shout or knock on other flat doors, if your flat doesn’t have a smoke alarm.
In this instance, as some flats may be empty, the priority is to get out. It is always recommended that you consider at least a smoke detector at the entrance to your flat for your own safety and to help warn others.
In some cases, alarms in flats can be linked to the alarm in the communal area, so that if a fire starts in the flats, it will activate the alarm for the building.
Stay Put
If a fire starts in another flat or the communal areas, you stay in your flat and do not evacuate unless you are advised by the attending Fire Service to do so OR if the fire starts in your own flat.
There would NOT normally be an alarm in the communal areas of the premises, although there may be detection to activate any form of smoke extraction/control.
Again, it would be recommended that each flat has its own form of fire/smoke detection to warn occupants within the flat. However, the principle of Stay Put is that each individual flat is its own protected cell.
The cell is designed and constructed so that if a fire starts, it is contained for a minimum of 30 minutes, by which time the fire should have burnt itself out.
If it does breach that cell, then it should still take a further 30 minutes to impact the next flat/cell, by which time the Fire Service should have attended and will be in charge.
The ‘cells’ need to be imperforate for Stay Put to work. If they have holes or holes for service pipes to go through; these need to be sealed to the same fire resistance as the cell.
Flat front doors, in this case, are a key part of ensuring that your flat is safe for Stay Put.
The flat door needs to either contain a fire or prevent a fire from entering your flat for at least 30 minutes. If it is damaged or doesn’t fit snugly into the rebate, has large gaps around the edge, or the intumescent strips and smoke seals around the door are damaged, it won’t effectively do its job.
If it doesn’t have a self-closer, this could also allow a fire to spread as it won’t close behind anyone escaping.
It is more likely that if your premises was originally designed and built to be a block of flats – it is Purpose-built.
If you would like more information about fire safety in purpose-built premises, there is Government guidance HERE
Fire doors and emergency exits
In the case of evacuation, the flat doors are an important aspect of fire safety. They help delay the spread of fire and smoke into the communal means of escape, allowing occupants time to get out.
Current fire doors hold back fire and smoke for up to 30 minutes (minimum). In the case of older buildings, some original doors may only last 20 minutes. For small premises, this may be acceptable in the case of an evacuation policy provided they are:
- Well-maintained
- Self-closing
- Equipped with intumescent strips and seals.
The doors only need to hold back the fire and smoke long enough for everyone to get out safely.
Your fire detection and alarm system are a key part of this, too; the earlier you get a warning to evacuate, the more time you will have.
It is more likely that if your premises was originally converted into a block of flats from another type of building, eg a larger house, or a commercial pub etc. It is a converted property.
What should you look out for in a fire emergency?
- Are there any fire safety signs or action notices on display in the communal area, either in the entrance or mounted on the wall next to manual call points? If so, they should tell you what to do in the event of a fire.
- Do you have an alarm in the communal area?
- Are your flat doors of the original construction and well maintained, or have they been upgraded or changed over the years.
- Are the walls and floors of your flat solid concrete, or have you got wooden floorboards?
Answering these questions will give you some idea of what your building might be designed for, but it is ultimately up to the Responsible Person of the building to ensure they know all the answers and maintain the building to support whichever evacuation strategy is in place.
Over the years, many premises that were originally designed and constructed for a Stay Put policy have had alarms fitted into the communal areas.
This might be because there are maintenance issues, the ‘cells’ may have breaches in the walls/floors/ceilings, flat doors may have been changed but not to a fire door standard, or it may have been for a temporary reason but never disabled/removed.
It should always be investigated why a building that would normally support a Stay Put policy has been fitted with an alarm.
Once work has been undertaken to resolve any issues it may be possible for the premises to once again allow its residents to remain in their flats.
Without investigation, the building is giving mixed messages, which can cause problems later on, especially for any attending Fire Service.
A purpose-built block of flats would be expected to have residents remaining in their flats. If they are all trying to evacuate while fire crews are trying to attend to a fire, this could impact the time it takes to manage the situation.
Get a free quote for a fire risk assessment
Understanding your building’s fire safety protocols is essential, whether you’re a landlord, building manager, or tenant.
If you’re unsure about your evacuation strategy or need to ensure your fire safety measures are up to code, it’s time to schedule a professional fire risk assessment.
At FireRiskAssessments.com, we offer professional fire safety assessments, tailored to your building’s needs.
Get in touch with us today for a free quote and take the first step in safeguarding your property and its occupants.