Require Tenants to Comply with Fire Evacuation Plan

The safety of your tenants and their employees and customers is vital to the success of your business'as well as to your peace of mind. You don't want to wait until you are faced with an emergency, such as a fire, to find out that you don't have an adequate emergency response and evacuation plan.

To protect your building, your employees, your tenants, and their customers, make sure you have a well-designed fire evacuation plan and schedule regular fire and evacuation drills, says security expert John L. Currie. More important, require your tenants to comply with your plan by adding a lease clause and attaching the plan as an exhibit to the lease. Not only will this ensure that tenants are aware of your plan, it may also help you negotiate the best insurance policy for your property.

What Should Be in Your Plan

When you design your fire evacuation plan and drill schedule, keep in mind that details are essential. Don't use a generic emergency plan that doesn't specifically address your building's needs. If your plan is designed properly, it should include the following:

Emergency safety director's name, responsibilities, contact information. You should designate the building's property manager as the emergency safety director. As emergency safety director, the property manager is responsible for handling all evacuations, fire drills, and legal compliance. The emergency safety director also serves as a point of contact for local law enforcement and fire department officials.

Be sure that the name of the director and a description of all of his emergency responsibilities are listed, and verify that the contact information provided for the director is always accurate and up to date.

List of fire wardens' names, responsibilities. Each tenant space or floor of your building must have a fire warden. The fire warden is responsible for assisting the emergency safety director with the evacuation, checking all offices and area spaces to make sure that everyone has evacuated the building, and communicating necessary information to the director.

Have your tenants provide you with a list containing the fire warden's name, contact information, and responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

Practical Pointer: Depending on the size of the building, you should ask for a primary and alternate fire warden for each area or floor.

Desired initial response to fire. Your plan should tell tenants to activate the fire alarm and call 911 immediately when they encounter a fire. But make sure the plan indicates where the alarms and fire extinguishers are located and include a building floor plan.

Method to alert building occupants, and location of fire exits. The plan should describe in detail what type of alarm the tenants will hear (loud horn or series of beeps) and provide a floor plan showing exactly where the fire exits are located. The floor plan should also include the locations of all stairwells, elevators, main corridors, and exits. The plan should also include a warning to never lock fire exits, and should instruct fire wardens to do periodic checks to make sure that all of the exits are accessible.

How to operate doors, and alternate plan if unable to exit. Your plan should provide instructions on what to do if exiting the building is not an option. For example:

What to Do If Trapped in a Burning Building

1. If you are trying to exit the building because of a fire, never open a closed door without feeling it first. Use the back of your hand to prevent burning your palm. If the door is hot, try another exit. If you are able to find a safe exit, make sure you close'but don't lock'the door behind you as you leave the building.

2. If you are trapped in an office, use wet towels, if available, to seal the space under the door and prevent the entry of smoke. Cracks around the door can be sealed with masking tape if necessary. Next, look for a nearby phone and call the fire department, giving them your exact location.

3. If breathing is difficult, try to ventilate the room by opening a window. If you are on an upper floor and the window is not designed to open, don't break it out'you'll be spraying glass on rescuers and people exiting the building. Try contacting the fire department by phone. If you are unsuccessful, try to remain calm, and wave for attention at the window.

Specific instructions for the disabled or hearing-impaired. Provide instructions for people who are unable to use the stairs or hear alarms during a building evacuation. Currie suggests consulting the local fire department to determine the proper procedure for your building.

Practical Pointer:

A detailed, well-designed plan should also clearly emphasize that during a fire evacuation, tenants should not use the elevators and should follow the fire warden's direction and proceed with caution to the nearest stairwell. Also, the plan should call for tenants to help their customers, who will not be familiar with the building's evacuation plan.

Designated meeting area location, and building reentry plan. Provide a diagram that shows exactly where the tenants' employees should meet their fire warden for a head count. The designated area should be a safe distance away from the building and clear of any oncoming, first-responder traffic. The plan should also instruct tenants' employees to check in with the fire warden as soon as they arrive at the meeting area and to wait for further instructions regarding reentry into the building.

Get Tenant's Agreement to Comply

Having a solid plan is important, but it's only part of running a safe building. For your plan to work, all of your tenants must comply with every step of your plan. To ensure that your tenants understand and are willing to comply with your fire evacuation plan and drill schedule, add the following language to your lease:

Model Lease Language

Tenant shall comply with all safety, fire protection, and evacuation rules established by Landlord and set forth in Exhibit A, as well as with any safety, fire protection, and evacuation regulations established by any applicable governmental agency.

Insider Source

John L. Currie: President and CEO, SAF Consulting Intl., 13101 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73107; (405) 525-6442; info@securityexpertgroup.com.