Emergency Action Plans and Fire Protection

Alarm System and Drills

Generally, your employer will have an alarm system in place which has a distinctive signal. Fire drills will make you aware of the sound. Practice all drills as if they are the real thing.

To extinguish a fire with a portable extinguisher, a person must?

Have immediate access to the extinguisher, know how to actuate the unit, and know how to apply the extinguishing agent effectively.

Everyone Stays

If there are customers, clients, or visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay and not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps immediately. Do not drive or walk outdoors.

What makes a good emergency evacuation floor plan?

1. Designate primary and secondary exits 2. No emergency exits in restrooms 3. Exit away from rooms with hazardous materials 4. No emergency exits into narrow passages 5. There must be exit signs indicating the nearest emergency exit 6. Designate and assembly area 7. No use of elevators to reach an emergency exit 8. Indicate exits with wheelchair access 9. Indicate the employee's current location

Fire Preparedness

1. Do not obstruct fire doors and shutters. 2. Do not block or obstruct the path to a fire extinguisher. 3. Never prop open emergency doors. Fire doors keep fire from spreading. 4. Keep a proper clearance available below fire sprinkler heads at all times. 5. Be wise about the use of electrical cords. Be certain you are not creating a tripping hazard by making sure they are not running across doorways or walkways.

OSHA has some basic requirements that exit routes must meet. Any exit route should?

1. Be permanent. 2. Be separated from the rest of the facility by fire resistant materials. 3. Have limited openings. 4. Have an adequate number of exit routes. 5. Lead directly outside or to a place with access to the outside. 6. Have an exit door unlocked from the inside and side-hinged. 7. Must support the maximum permitted occupant load for each floor served. 8. Must meet minimum height and width requirements (at least 7 feet, 6 inches high and 28 inches wide).

How to Prevent Fire

1. Clean up spills of flammable or combustible liquids promptly. 2. Dispose of combustible scrap, debris, and waste materials safely in covered metal receptacles. Remove the waste from the worksite promptly. 3. Practice safe storage requirements for flammable and combustible liquids and hazardous materials. 4. Do not smoke near flammable or combustible liquids. 5. If you smoke, before you throw away butts and ashes, make sure they are out.

When you respond to an incipient stage fire, you should do what?

1. Sound the alarm and call the fire department, if appropriate. 2. Identify a safe evacuation path before approaching the fire. Do not allow the fire, heat, or smoke to come between you and your evacuation path. 3. Select the appropriate type of fire extinguisher. 4. Discharge the extinguisher within its effective range by using the PASS technique. 5. Back away from an extinguished fire in case it flames up again. 6. Evacuate immediately if the extinguisher is empty and the fire is not out or if the fire progresses beyond the incipient stage.

Fire is a very rapid chemical reaction between oxygen and a combustible material, which results in the release of heat, light, flames, and smoke. For fire to exist, what four elements must be present at the same time?

1. Enough oxygen to sustain combustion 2. Enough heat to raise the material to its ignition temperature 3. Some sort of fuel or combustible 4. The chemical reaction that is fire

If you're inside during a tornado, do what?

1. Go to an interior room, hallway, storm cellar, basement, or the lowest level of the building. 2. Get away from windows. 3. Go to the center of the room. 4. Avoid places with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums or cafeterias. 5. Get under a piece of sturdy furniture. 6. Use your arms to protect your head and neck. 7. If in a mobile home, get out and find shelter elsewhere.

If you're in a moving vehicle during a tornado, do what?

1. Never try to "out-drive" a tornado. 2. Get out of the vehicle and get away from it. 3. Take shelter in a nearby building or lay down in a ditch or low-lying area. 4. Do not hide under a bridge or overpass.

Call Emergency Contacts

Unless there is an imminent threat, ask employees, customers, clients, and visitors to call their emergency contact to let them know where they are and that they are safe.

Employer Requirement #3

Extinguishers must be kept in their designated place at all times except during operation. And your employers must conduct an annual maintenance check on each extinguisher.

A massive amount of ammonia gas has been accidentally released near your office. You have a room without windows and relatively tightly sealed doors. Should you shelter in place?

You should shelter in place under these circumstances. Your office is a safe enough environment that you would encounter more hazards by leaving rather than sheltering in place.

Evacuation Option 3

All employees are authorized to use portable fire extinguishers to fight fires.

Class K Fire Extinguisher

Combustible cooking media/vegetable or animal oils and fats

Fires can increase in what in seconds?

Size and intensity

Examples of possible "shelter-in-place" situations:

1. Explosion in an ammonia refrigeration facility across the street 2. Leaking tank car of chlorine on the rail line behind your place of business

Fire Risk Assessment

1. Fire size 2. Evacuation path 3. Atmosphere

You should be aware of common ignition sources which could start fires in or around your worksite. Examples of ignition sources include:

1. Open flames (such as pilot fires) 2. Smoking 3. Static electricity 4. Hotwork (such as welding, cutting, and brazing) 5. Electrical and mechanical sparks 5. Lightning

What would be some things addressed by an employer completing an EAP template?

1. Procedures for alerting people about an emergency 2. Responsibilities for those affected 3. Evacuation routes

Reporting Hazards

1. Report any obvious hazard to life or property in connection with electrical equipment or lines as soon as possible. 2. Report any exposed wiring and cords with frayed or deteriorated insulation promptly. 3. Talk to your supervisor if you encounter frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers.

Employer Requirement #2

Fire extinguishers must be inspected, maintained and tested. Fire extinguishers must be fully charged and kept in operable condition. When an extinguisher is recharged, that activity needs to be correctly noted on its inspection tag.

Class B Fire Extinguisher

Flammables/liquids, gases, greases

Floor Plan

It uses floor plans/maps to show emergency escape routes.

Fire Extinguisher Risk

Portable fire extinguishers contain a limited amount of extinguishing agent and can be discharged in a matter of seconds. Therefore, individuals should attempt to fight only very small or incipient stage fires.

If you ever do hot work on your job site, a fire watch is used to do what?

Prevent and/or extinguish fires at the beginning stages. They monitor hot work sites to make sure that conditions don't change when combustible materials can't be effectively removed, protected, or shielded. However, fire watches require specialized training. Workers in charge of a fire watch take appropriate actions to protect all workers if a fire occurs.

Lock Doors

Quickly lock exterior doors and close windows, air vents, and fireplace dampers. Have employees familiar with your building's mechanical systems turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems, and clothes dryers.

Portable fire extinguishers contain a limited amount of extinguishing agent and can be discharged in a matter of?

Seconds

An EAP must have?

1. A means of reporting fires and other emergencies 2. Evacuation procedures and emergency escape route assignments 3. Procedures for employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate 4. Accounting for all employees after an emergency evacuation has been completed 5. Rescue and medical duties for employees performing them 6. Names or job titles of persons who can be contacted

If you're outside during a tornado, do what?

1. Get inside a building, if possible. 2. If shelter is not available or there is no time to get indoors, lie in a ditch or low-lying area, or crouch near a strong building. 3. Use your arms to protect your head and neck.

Portable fire extinguishers have two functions which are?

1. To control or extinguish small (or incipient stage) fires 2. To protect evacuation routes that a fire may block directly or indirectly with smoke or burning/smoldering materials.

What factors affect the decision of whether to evacuate or shelter in place?

1. Type of building 2. Location of emergency 3. Extent of the emergency

Emergency Action Procedures

An EAP will provide information on methods for reporting an emergency, such as calling 911 and/or using other internal resources. It will also contain instructions for exiting, such as pulling the alarm, using the nearest staircase, not using elevators, designating rally points, and accounting for who has evacuated. An EAP should also contain information on evacuation procedures for those who may have mobility issues.

Class D Fire Extinguisher

Combustible metals (such as magnesium, titanium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium)

Evacuation Option 2

Designated employees are authorized to use portable fire extinguishers to fight fires. All other employees must evacuate workplace immediately when alarm sounds.

Class C Fire Extinguisher

Electrical/energized electrical equipment

Miguel is taking some tools to a remote work site area in the country when he sees a tornado drop down from the storm cloud on his left. He stops his truck and gets out looking for the best possible location for a shelter. Where should Miguel go? A truck, a faraway church, a barn with tools in it, or a wet culvert?

Even though Miguel will get wet in a culvert, it provides the best protection. The church is too far away and the rundown barn has loose debris. The truck would not be a good choice because tornadoes can easily pick up and throw vehicles.

Evacuation Option 4

Extinguishers are provided but not intended for employee use.

It's necessary to do what when flammables are being transferred from one container to the other?

It's necessary to "bond" containers and have the receiving container in contact with the ground so that the static can be effectively eliminated and, thereby, remove the ignition source.

Stay Informed

Look out for updates from local authorities by monitoring local news channels or radio stations. If you are signed up for local alert systems, that is an excellent way to get updates.

Class A Fire Extinguisher

Ordinary combustible material fires (such as wood, cloth, and paper)

P.A.S.S.

P - Pull the pin A - Aim at the base of the fire S - Squeeze the handle S - Sweep side to side

You need to decide whether to fight a small fire using a portable fire extinguisher. What situation indicates a small fire for which it may be appropriate to use a portable fire extinguisher?

Smoke is accumulating on the ceiling, but visibility is good.

Gina is about to use a fire extinguisher on a small fire. What factor determines the type of extinguisher she should use?

The type of fire

A fire prevention plan defines the training required for all employees who have responsibilities in the plan. Is this statement true or false?

This statement is true. A fire prevention plan defines the training required for all employees who have responsibilities in the plan.

A fire prevention plan describes all the major fire hazards at the workplace that initiate or contribute to the spread of a fire. Is this statement true or false?

This statement is true. A fire prevention plan describes all the major fire hazards at the workplace that initiate or contribute to the spread of a fire.

Evacuation Plan

Your employer's emergency action plan will also include procedures for reporting a fire. Your employer will cover the procedures to follow in alerting others to the fire emergency, such as using fire alarms or paging systems. Once the emergency situation is over, your employer must also have a method for re-entering the building or giving the all-clear.

A fire prevention plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and be made available to employees for review. However, if an employer has 10 or fewer employees, they may communicate the plan orally to employees. Is this statement true or false?

This statement is true. A fire prevention plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and be made available to employees for review. However, if an employer has 10 or fewer employees, they may communicate the plan orally to employees.

Evacuation Option 1

Total evacuation of employees from the workplace immediately when alarm sounds. No one is authorized to use available portable fire extinguishers.

There are specific tasks that require special fire protection. Give two examples.

Two of these are hot work and dispensing flammables and combustibles, such as gasoline or natural gas.

Account for Everyone

Write down the names of everyone in the room, and call your business's designated emergency contact to report who is in the room with you, and their affiliation with your business (employee, visitor, client, customer).

You are working on a large plant floor when you hear an explosion, which is followed by billowing smoke, debris and the fire alarm going off. Should you shelter in place?

You should not shelter in place under these circumstances. When there is a building fire, you must always try to evacuate. If your exit route is blocked, stay in a room with the door closed and signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at a window and try calling 911.

Prior to fighting any fire with a portable fire extinguisher, what should you take into account?

ou definitely need to keep your own safety in mind before fighting a fire. If the fire is too big, you don't have a clear evacuation path, or the atmosphere is too hot or smoky, you should evacuate.

You are working at a beachfront facility that has very solid construction. You have finished helping to secure the facility prior to the arrival of a large hurricane. Some of your colleagues say they are going to ride out the storm at the facility but you know there is still time to follow the published evacuation route. Should you shelter in place?

You should not shelter in place under these circumstances. Hurricanes can create powerful waves and destructive winds, and a beachfront facility will be one of the first places hit by the hurricane's winds, storm surge, and any flying debris.

You hear the tornado warning alarm sounding as you are working in your second story office area. There are a lot of windows in this large area of low cubicles. There is an interior stairwell that leads to a basement area. Should you shelter in place?

You should not shelter in place under these circumstances. Whenever you're inside during a tornado, you should always go to an interior room at the lowest level possible in the building.

Employer Requirement #1

Your employer must mount, locate and identify fire extinguishers so workers can access them without subjecting themselves to possible injury. Portable fire extinguishers need to be available in adequate numbers and mounted in a readily accessible location.

Reasonably Expected Emergencies

It covers reasonably expected emergencies, such as fires, explosions, toxic chemical releases, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and floods.

Actions

It describes actions that must be taken to ensure employee safety in emergencies. It tells employees what actions to take in emergency situations.

Exit Routes

It is imperative that you know exit routes where you work. Don't wait until disaster strikes to figure out where to go and what to do. Most employers provide exit routes that are marked out on office and floor diagrams. Arrows are typically used to show the exit routes. EAP maps should clearly show the locations of exits, safety equipment like fire extinguishers, and assembly points. Be sure to ask to see maps for the area where you typically work. In addition, walk the exit routes where you can—some exit doors might be alarmed so check before opening them. Check for obstacles making the route difficult to get through and advise your manager.

When transferring liquids, gases, or solids through pipes or hoses, what may be generated?

Static electricity may be generated, creating an electric charge that can ignite the flammables.

Contaminated Air

Tape plastic sheeting over vents, windows, and doors to prevent contaminated air from entering the room. If you are told there is danger of explosion, close the window shades, blinds, or curtains.

Interior Room

The best place to shelter is an interior room above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents. The room should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit. Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms if necessary. Large storage closets, utility rooms, pantries, copy and conference rooms without exterior windows will work well. Avoid selecting a room with mechanical equipment like ventilation blowers or pipes, because this equipment may not be able to be sealed from the outdoors.