Evacuation Drills

After emergency procedures have been written, evacuation drills should be conducted to ensure that the procedures are satisfactory. Each building at the University has its own ECO with Wardens and a BEC . These buildings have emergency procedures which must be tested every year to ensure they are satisfactory and current.

Frequency of Drills

The size and configuration of your premises, together with the type of occupancy, will determine the type and time interval between practice evacuation drills. These may be conducted either as partial evacuation drills or a total drill covering a building, structure and workplace. All areas of a building, structure or workplace shall participate in at least one drill per calendar year.

Remember emergencies can occur at any time. Night shift should not be excluded from a drill simply because the day time staff are not around.

Participants

All occupants of the floor(s) or area(s) involved in the evacuation drill shall take part. The aim of evacuation drills is to have all occupants participate in at least one evacuation drill per year consistent with the nature and risk of the building, structure or workplace.

How to Conduct your Evacuation Drill

Evacuation drills are now scheduled 2007 Parkville Evacuation Schedule and activated by the Emergency Management Coordinator in conjunction with the BEC and P&CS Fire Services. Each BEC will be contacted at the begining of their allocated quarter to have their Evacuation Drill organised.

Coordinate the timing of the drill with Director or Head of School or Department and Laboratory Manager of School or Department.

Where the ECO is inexperienced, advance notice of the drill (including date and approximate time) may be sent to all staff to assist their understanding and cooperation. An experienced team can supervise a drill without notice to occupants so that minimum interruption is caused to normal functions, this is the preferred option.

The BEC should download an Building Evacuation Report to record the time required to complete the drill, and note any problems and deficiencies.

Make a special effort to organise the drill when both the Head of Department and other Manager(s) are present in the building.

Management

The cooperation and active participation of senior officers in a building is essential to ensure the wholehearted support of staff. It should be accepted by management that the evacuation plan and procedures by properly tested and that all Wardens have sufficient practice to ensure their effectiveness in an emergency situation.

The responsibility of ensuring your building has conducted a drill lies with the Departments involved. Section 2.4.2.5.2 of EHS Manual.

Debriefing

After each drill, a debriefing of Wardens should be held to evaluate the success of the drill and to solve any problems that may have arisen. The BEC should complete a Building Evacuation Report to capture the issues and performance of the drill. The main purpose of the drill is to identify and correct any deficiencies in the evacuation and emergency procedures or its implementation.