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Emergency Evacuation Procedure

The evacuation response process is similar across all buildings in the main campus and is summarised below.

When the fire alarm sounds for more than 15-20 seconds, everyone should leave the building immediately by the most direct route.

Once outside, everyone should proceed to a safe place away from the building, keeping all roads and access ways clear for emergency responders. Staff should encourage and help others out and away from the building. No one must re-enter the building until Community Safety have confirmed it is safe to do so (see NOTE below).

NOTE: Community Safety respond to all fire alarms on University premises to aid evacuation and to investigate the cause of the alarm at the location it has been activated.

Officers will silence the alarm and reset the fire control panel only when safe to do so.

MAIN CAMPUS	Response
Fire Wardens (staff)	Sweep immediate areas Help others if safe to do so and then evacuate
Community Safety Control Room	Dispatches Community Safety officers to attend the alarm Call Fire Service if fire is confirmed
Community Safety Response Team	Check source of fire alarm Call for Fire Service, if required Prevent re-entry until safe Check with fire wardens, and building occupants where possible, to identify any persons still in building Coordinate evacuation of disabled persons from refuges Guide Fire Service to building Liaise with Fire Service while on site Reset fire control panel when safe Complete incident report
Re-entry	Community Safety must ensure that the building is safe before allowing re-entry

Once the fire alarm is silenced, DO NOT assume it is safe to re-enter the building until you have been told to so by Community Safety.

To inform occupants the building is safe, Community Safety will walk the perimeter of the building and communicate with people, once the alarm has been reset. If you are unsure if the building is safe to re-enter, call the Community Safety Control Room on 024 7652 2083 for further guidance.

Dispersals

As the University develops and becomes more congested with people and buildings, existing emergency evacuation assembly points may have been removed due to a change in land use, there has been a need to re-think the approach to having dedicated emergency assembly points. Accordingly, it has been decided that some buildings would better suit a ‘dispersal approach’, which is where people move safely away from the building in any direction and await further instruction.

This can be summarised as, ‘Get out, stay in a safe place, move further away if necessary, and follow instructions’.

There are many advantages to a ‘dispersal approach’, as listed below, and it is likely to be adopted across more buildings in the future.

Pros:

·Minimises Crowding: It prevents crowding at a single point, which can be crucial in reducing the risk of injuries and ensuring a smoother evacuation process

·Flexibility: It allows people to use multiple exits and routes, which can be particularly effective in larger or more complex buildings

·Reduces Targets for Potential Threats: In scenarios where the fire or emergency is a result of a malicious act, dispersal can minimise the risk of people being targeted in a single location. The police recommend dispersal to reduce the potential targets for terrorist attacks, particularly in city centres, for example.

·Easier Social Distancing: In times of a pandemic, dispersal evacuations make it easier to maintain social-distancing protocols.

·Better in bad weather: Occupants can use other nearby buildings such as cafes and other indoor locations to wait for the ‘all clear’.

Buildings that do adopt this approach will have their Fire Action notices replaced, as below: