Evacuation Plans and
Fire Drills

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In this day of heightened awareness for public safety, now is a good time to review some sample regulations requiring regular fire drills in certain buildings and evacuation plans to determine if your community should enact similar provisions. While few municipalities, to this point, have included provisions on these subjects, we have managed to uncover some samples you might find helpful. Such regulations include fire safety drills and procedures for health care facilities, which need to be approved by the Fire Department. Another sample sets forth the number of drills to be held in educational occupancies (with a majority of drills being held in the first three months of the school year), as well as the frequency of drills held in institutional occupancies. Addressed in the latter is whether or not infirm persons need to be removed from institutional buildings during drills. There is also an example for school bus evacuation drills. Still another contains a safety program for high-rise buildings and housing for non-ambulatory persons and persons confined for correctional purposes; under the direction of the Fire Chief, a safety director is appointed, as well as floor captains to assist in evacuations. Lastly, reporting requirements are detailed which allow local fire authorities to follow up and ensure that periodic fire drills are actually being held. Be safe - be prepared.

Buffalo, C. NY: §§ 103-36 and 103-37 Smithtown, T. NY: § 164-28 Rochester, C. NY: § 54-20 Order On-Line!

§ 103-36. Fire drills in educational and institutional occupancies.

1. Fire drills shall be held at least once a month in educational occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building. There shall be at least 12 drills in each school year, eight of which required drills shall be held between September 1 and December 1 of each such year. At least 1/3 of all such required drills shall be through use of fire escapes on buildings where fire escapes are provided.
2. Fire drills in institutional occupancies shall be held at least once every two months where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building. During severe weather, fire drills may be postponed. A record of all fire drills shall be kept, and persons in charge of such occupancies shall file written reports at least quarterly with the Bureau of Fire Prevention, giving the time and date of each drill held.
3. In educational occupancies, fire drills shall include complete evacuation of all persons from the building. In institutional occupancies, fire drill shall be conducted to familiarize operating personnel with their assigned positions of emergency duties; complete evacuation of occupants from the building at the time of the fire drill shall be required only where it is practical and does not involve moving or disturbing persons under medical care.

§ 103-37. Emergency drills on school buses.

1. All schools using or contracting for school buses for transporting of school children shall conduct two emergency evacuation drills on buses during each school year. The first emergency evacuation drill shall be conducted during the first week of the first school term and the second during the month of March. Additional emergency evacuation drills on buses may be requested by the principal of the school or the Commissioner of Fire. Each such drill shall include practice and instruction concerning the location, use and operation of the emergency exits, doors and fire extinguishers and the proper evacuation of buses in the event of fires and accidents.
2. Bus operators shall make sure of the proper operation of emergency exits and doors at the beginning of each day's use of the bus for the transportation of school children and shall also see that fire extinguishers are in their proper locations and ready for emergency use. Bus operators shall be provided with proper training and instructions to enable them to carry out the provisions of this section.
3. The school principal or bus operator (owner) shall certify in writing to the Fire Prevention Bureau, on or before the 10th day of April in each year, that the emergency evacuation drills herein required have been held.

§ 164-28. Drills in health-care facilities.

1. Hospitals, nursing homes, adult homes, convalescent homes, old-age homes and other buildings or structures used for the inpatient care of or occupied by the sick, invalid, infirm, disabled or convalescent persons shall be required to conduct firesafety drills in each building on a monthly basis. [Amended 3-14-2000 by L.L. No. 4-2000]

2. Said firesafety drills shall be conducted with the personnel of the hospital, nursing home, adult home, convalescent home, old-age home or other building or structure used for the inpatient care of or occupied by the sick, invalid, infirm, disabled or convalescent persons. Said firesafety drill shall be performed so as to continually educate said personnel on proper evacuation techniques and procedures and defend-in-place procedures. All such procedures shall be approved by the Fire Prevention Division. [Amended 3-14-2000 by L.L. No. 4-2000]
3. A fire drill report, as supplied by the Fire Prevention Division, shall be filed with the Fire Prevention Division at least 72 hours after any fire drill. [Amended 3-14-2000 by L.L. No. 4-2000]
4. In the event that an alarm system is tied into or connected to a central station or other place designed to dispatch a signal to a Fire Department or other emergency response unit, then it shall be the duty of the hospital, nursing home, adult home, convalescent home, old-age home or other building or structure used for the inpatient care of or occupied by the sick, invalid, infirmed, disabled or convalescent persons to notify the central station or other place designed to dispatch a signal to a Fire Department or other emergency response unit prior to the commencement of any firesafety drill and at the completion of each firesafety drill.
5. In the event of an alarm activation other than for a fire drill, an incident report, supplied by the Fire Prevention Division, shall be filed with the Fire Prevention Division within 72 hours of the incident. [Amended 3-14-2000 by L.L. No. 4-2000]

§ 54-20. Safety program for high-rise buildings.

1. This section shall apply to the following:

(1) Any multistory building or structure where the roof level exceeds 70 feet in height above average grade.

(2) Any multistory building or structure where the roof level exceeds 55 feet in height above average grade when fire apparatus is unable to gain access to at least a twenty-foot-wide area located approximately between 10 and 30 feet from the building line, measured perpendicular thereto, on at least two sides of the building.

(3) Any building three or more stories in height above grade which is used primarily as the living quarters for persons confined, detained, held for correctional purposes, substantially handicapped, semiambulatory, nonambulatory or under medical care so that assistance by others is required or for persons of similar restricted facilities.

2. The Fire Chief or his authorized subordinates shall direct or order all of the following listed items with respect to the functioning of internal services within any building that falls under this section:

(1) Require the occupants or owner of the building to appoint a safety director and one or more assistant safety directors, such that at least one director is in attendance at all times the building is normally occupied. Such appointees are not required or expected to work full time on such assignments, but are selected from existing personnel to perform these assignments in addition to their regular duties.

(2) Require the safety director and his assistants to perform their duties, as listed in Subsection C of this section.

(3) Require the safety director to keep such records as are appropriate for his operations, which records shall be subject to a review by the Fire Chief at any time.

(4) Require the safety director to report without undo delay any changes made or to be made in appointments for safety director or change in the normal location within the building for existing appointees.

(5) Require the safety director to make any necessary changes in his operations or in his assigned personnel in accordance with the safety director's duties as set forth in Subsection C, as may be deemed proper in the interest of the safety of the occupants and the general public.

3. The safety director of a building shall perform the following duties:

(1) Become thoroughly familiar with the operations and equipment installed in the building.

(2) Instruct assistant directors so that they will gain a thorough knowledge of the building and its operation.

(3) Appoint floor captains and alternates for each floor and post evacuation instruction placards in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) When two or more able-bodied persons, 18 years or more in age, employed either by the building management or one of its leased tenants or otherwise normally residing within the building for a period exceeding 90 days are assigned working and/or living space on one particular floor, the safety director shall appoint a floor captain and an alternate floor captain for each floor that has a normal occupancy exceeding six persons. If employees are selected and the building operation extends beyond one working shift per day, then separate captains and alternates must be appointed for each shift. The safety director shall maintain an up-to-date list of all directors, captains and alternates, which shall be posted in the safety director's office. The safety director shall instruct all captains and alternates on the assistance they can offer from their respective floors, including the direction of personnel evacuation.

(b) The safety director shall post evacuation instruction placards in visible locations within the building. One type of instruction shall be required in each private area, at the point of exiting into a public area. Instructions shall also be mounted in elevator lobbies, on the wall of each elevator group and at all doors entering required stairwells. The wording of each of these types of instruction placards and their location is subject to prior approval of the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief shall not withhold his approval unreasonably.

(4) Within the first four months of building occupancy, hold a simulated fire drill in each of the building's zones. Each floor shall be considered a zone. Thereafter, hold one simulated fire drill at least once every six months.

(5) Test the coordinated firesafety system of the building at least once each month.

(6) Conduct meetings of assigned personnel for instructional purposes and/or informational purposes.

(7) Observe and report any existing hazards, temporary or permanent, that may affect the safety of the occupants in the event of an emergency.

(8) Following an emergency and with the help of assistants, examine all emergency facilities, reset all activated dampers and generally restore the building to its preemergency condition.

(9) Perform such other duties or assignments as the Fire Chief may direct.

4. For existing buildings that fulfill the height requirements of this section, the Fire Chief shall require certain improvements in any existing safety program being conducted within such buildings as he deems necessary, taking into account the existing layout of the buildings and the availability of personnel, without causing practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in the carrying out of such improvements.