Hello

As we look to reopen our operations we have started to discuss how we manage fire safety. We accept that in an emergency social distancing is not vital so if there is a fire it is more important to get people out of the building and to a place of safety rather than worry about 2m social distancing.

However how can we safely complete fire drills while adhering to social distancing during the evacuation and at the Assembly Point? What would be deemed acceptable by the Fire Authorities?

I am considering flash cards to ask staff at certain times, seeing if we can get some specific e-learning and testing. Unfortunately nothing replaces the event as completing a drill and we have identifed poor knowledge, practices and improvements we can make during a drills.

Thoughts?

Use the search function?

http://forum.iosh.co.uk/posts/t129966-Evacuation-Drills---Social-Distancing

http://forum.iosh.co.uk/posts/t129911-Emergency-Evacuation-Exercises

Personally I take the view that since we are a relatively small organisation with fairly low turnover most of our staff will have experienced several fire drills in the building already and new starters have the fire procedure explained to them. I'll probably skip our next drill and pick up again at the next 6 month interval. 

I am in the same dilemma as I look after fire safety in a number of large and complex buildings, some with occupancy numbers into many thousands.

The reoccupation of the company's buildings will only be partial - perhaps for the rest of 2020. Staff are working in different offices, on different floors and at different times. The working day is now very long with split shifts, whilst other staff are working alternate weeks.

The result is a significant shortage of fire wardens as they are spread out on these different working patterns or at home, and a displaced workforce, many working in unfamiliar buildings or parts of buildings.

There has never been a greater need to conduct a fire drill to ensure staff understand what they need to do and to test procedures. However, until we have ramped up the number of fire wardens, there is little point. We will carry out routine drills at smaller premises where there there has been an increase in staff or where the risk of fire is greatest or unusual, but I am planning on cancelling the drill at our Head Office and a few more difficult locations.

 Instead, managers will have to read a briefing note to staff and discuss fire procedures during routine team meetings and sign off they have done so - a virtual drill. For new staff, those with PEEPS and upon request, they will receive a walk through of the building from where they work to their RVP. Plus staff will need to complete the fire awareness e-learning within 5 working days of returning and thefrequency of e-learning will be increased to six-monthly for the foreseeable future

If anybody is proposing novel ideas or systems to replace fire drills on an interim basis, I would appreciate it if they share it here