Planning Your Means of Escape: Best Practices for Fire Safety 

A well-planned emergency escape procedure is crucial for maintaining fire safety – on all types of premises.

In the event of a fire, knowing the nearest exit and the safest route can mean the difference between life and death, and a fire risk assessment can help you make sure it’s done right.

In this guide, we’ll outline some best practices for planning your fire escape procedure, including identifying and signposting escape routes, ensuring accessibility, and communicating emergency plans to all occupants.

By staying prepared, you can reduce the risk of injury or fatalities in case of a fire incident or emergency – and that’s exactly what we’ll cover in this blog.

The importance of effective escape routes

In cases of fire emergency, having clear, effective escape routes can be the difference between a successful evacuation, and a devastating tragedy.

First and foremost, escape routes are designed to ensure the safety of building occupants in the event of a fire incident or emergency. However, they’re also vital for helping you stay compliant with fire safety legislation.

Having effective emergency escape routes outlined and clearly signposted within your premises not only gives you the best chance at preventing loss of life or injury due to a fire, it also helps minimise the risk of legal repercussions, fines, damages, and more.

Designing clear fire escape routes

Designing clear fire escape routes should be a top priority when it comes to implementing a fire emergency procedure.

Having well-planned and preserved escape routes can save lives by guiding occupants quickly and safely away from the fire area – via a quick, unobstructed, and well-marked exit.

Here, we’ll look in more detail at some key things to remember when mapping out primary and secondary exits, to make sure all routes are clear, safe, and signposted.

Identify potential hazards

To identify any potential hazards, start by walking through the premises, looking for anything that might block or slow down an emergency evacuation.

Keep an eye out for anything that could obstruct exits, narrow corridors which could become bottlenecks, or cluttered areas which could cause accidents during the rush to escape the premises.

You need to make sure there are no combustible items – or sources of ignition, like electrical items – along any escape routes.

All exit doors must open in the direction of escape and have the right opening mechanism – a thumb turn lock or push bar/pad – to open. They must be easily openable with one hand and shouldn’t be locked.

You should always remember to consider occupants with mobility impairments – for example, are your fire escape routes wheelchair-friendly?

Every second matters when it comes to fire emergencies, so you must consider the accessibility needs of those with disabilities or limited mobility when outlining escape routes.

Map out primary and secondary exits

Next, you should think about primary and secondary fire exits – during a fire emergency, would they be easy to find and access from all parts of the premises?

You need to make sure that all exits (primary and secondary) are always accessible, never locked, easy to open, clearly marked, and free from any clutter or hazards. If you need an example of what qualifies as a fire hazard within a fire escape route, read our article about the dangers of coat hooks.

Ensure that your exits are marked with clear, visible signs – and don’t forget to install emergency lighting to guide people to safety in poor or low visibility! For information on the steps you need to take to protect your occupants and premises, explore our Fire Risk Assessment checklist.

Maintaining fire escape routes

When it comes to protecting people during a fire incident or emergency, maintaining fire escape routes is an absolute necessity.

Imagine spending hours meticulously planning your fire escape routes, only to have them become cluttered over time due to lack of maintenance, so when an emergency does occur, they’re no longer usable.

This is a worst-case scenario, so to avoid it, make a habit of regularly inspecting your escape routes for any new obstacles or hazards that could slow down or block an evacuation.

You should look at everything; from the routes and emergency exit doors themselves, to the alarms, emergency lighting, and signage. The idea is that everything works without a hitch in case of a real emergency – where every second counts.

This is where FireRiskAssessment.com comes in. We’re experts in catching potential issues early on, so you can put the necessary measures in place to stop them.

Our professional fire risk assessment process covers everything from catching unseen risks and protecting vulnerable individuals, to putting safety into action and documenting everything we’ve found.

Don’t forget about establishing a Responsible Person and making sure all occupants are informed of fire emergency evacuation procedures!

If you’re an employer on a business premises, make sure your employees undergo basic fire safety training, understand the importance of fire safety protocols, and are aware of what to do in the event of a fire emergency.

Practice emergency fire evacuations

Like most things, when it comes to fire safety, practice makes perfect.

It’s a legal requirement to carry out at least one drill per year, however, it’s always a good idea to schedule regular fire emergency drills, to ensure all occupants attend at least one drill.

Regular fire drills allow everyone to get to grips with the evacuation plan, and what an actual evacuation might look like.

This is not only an ideal way to spot gaps or issues within your current procedure, but it also gives you the opportunity to see what could make things smoother should a real fire occur.

The more prepared people are for evacuation, the safer they’ll be in the event of a real emergency, so ask questions, have discussions, and gather feedback from all occupants to make sure they’re comfortable following emergency procedures.

Stay compliant with FireRiskAssessments.com

Keeping your occupants and premises safe from fire isn’t just about spotting hazards and planning evacuations – it’s about staying legally compliant, too.

Take the time to make sure you’re familiar with local fire safety laws and legislation, and that your emergency procedures, escape routes, and exits meet all the necessary standards.

If you’re not sure, just remember: it’s never worth it to leave fire safety to chance!