When a fire emergency happens, the way we react can make a big difference in the outcome. Fire warden training can help ensure you and your team are fully prepared to handle emergencies.
Understanding how human behaviour works during critical situations, like fires, is essential for improving safety and protecting lives in the event of an emergency.
While fire alarms and detection systems are designed to save lives, panic can impede decision-making, slow down reactions, and put people at risk.
Whether it’s freezing, fleeing blindly, struggling to think clearly, or feeling dizzy – stress and panic responses in fire emergency scenarios can have real and serious consequences.
In this blog, we’ll look at how panic occurs, why it happens, and what you can do to react well and stay safe in a fire emergency with FireRiskAssessments.com.
Understanding panic in fire emergencies
For many of us, panic in an emergency situation is a natural response – but why does it happen, and what does it look like?
When a fire alarm goes off, the brain processes the signal as a threat, which can trigger the body’s fight or flight response to keep us safe. This reaction releases adrenaline, which increases your heart rate, heightens your focus, and prepares you for action.
However, the downside of fight or flight is that it can also cause us to panic; experiencing confusion, fear, and making irrational decisions.
During a fire emergency, panic can show itself in a variety of ways:
Freeze: feeling paralysed or unable to act, which delays evacuation procedures.
Flee: rushing blindly to escape, which can increase the chance of injury in a fire.
Follow: looking to others for cues leads to herd behaviour, resulting in decisions which usually aren’t the safest.
Panic and impulsive decision-making are more likely to happen if people don’t know how to find fire escape routes and aren’t trained in fire emergency procedures.
Human responses during fires
When a fire emergency happens, we often see human behaviour follow predictable patterns.
As we’ve mentioned, the fight or flight response plays a big part in how we respond to fire emergencies, with some people instinctively choosing to ‘fight’ the danger or, more commonly, ‘flee’ from it.
No matter what your fight or flight instincts look like, a lack of organisation and fire safety preparation can cause chaos and higher risks of injury.
Some key examples of human behaviour during fires include:
Herd mentality: sometimes, in unfamiliar or stressful situations, people instinctively follow the actions of those around them. If one person panics, it can quickly spread to the other people around them, resulting in chaos.
Delayed action: when a fire alarm goes off, some people naturally hesitate to act, thinking that it might be a false alarm. As you can guess, when a real fire emergency occurs, this kind of delay can waste precious time to escape safely.
Over-reliance on instructions: in emergency situations, many people wait too long for instructions instead of taking responsible action straight away – especially in the workplace.
These are just a few examples of why fire safety training and organisation can be absolutely crucial in the event of a real emergency.
Regular fire drills teach people exactly what they should do if a fire breaks out at work, home, or elsewhere, helping them respond in a calm, safe, and efficient way to protect themselves and others.
How to manage panic and promote safety
So, what can you do to reduce panic responses and stay safe during a real fire emergency?
1. Be prepared
Being prepared is the first step to staying safe if a fire happens. If you’re responsible for others, make sure everyone understands the fire escape plan for your workplace or building.
Set out time to get familiar with fire exits, alarms, and escape routes, so you don’t need to waste time searching for them in an emergency. Having regular fire drills is also really important for practicing what to do if the fire alarm goes off, so do them regularly and always take them seriously.
2. Stay calm and follow instructions
When the fire alarm does go off, the first step is to stay as calm as possible. Avoid rushing or panicking, as this will only put yourself and other people at more risk.
Follow the established evacuation procedures and routes for the premises, move calmly, and don’t use lifts or stop to collect any belongings.
Staying calm under pressure will help you make better decisions to keep yourself and others safe from injury.
3. Fire safety training and fire warden responsibilities
Fire safety awareness training is a legal requirement and must be provided to all employees.
As part of a fire risk assessment, clients receive access to our basic online fire safety training for up to 12 months, making sure your team understands essential fire safety principles.
Fire warden training, however, is not required for all employees. This advanced training should be provided to designated fire wardens or ‘responsible persons’ for ensuring safe evacuation, sweeping the building, and liaising with the fire service.
The number of fire wardens you need will depend on the occupancy level and complexity of the premises layout, but there should always be enough to account for absences due to holidays or sickness.
Stay fire emergency-ready with FireRiskAssessments.com
Understanding how panic and human behaviour work in fire emergency situations is key to staying safe. Panic can increase the chances of injury, but with proper training and preparation, we can improve our responses.
Remember, knowing what to do if a fire starts – whether it’s at work, home, or anywhere else – can save lives.
Don’t wait until an emergency strikes. Give yourself and your team the right skills by scheduling expert fire warden training with FireRiskAssessments.com.
Staying prepared and protecting your people starts here!