Tuesday tips for planning safe events: create an evacuation plan!
It’s time for another edition of Tuesday tips for planning safe events!
Today’s tip is to have a safe evacuation plan in place in case of emergency.
Regardless of how prepared you are for your event, emergencies can happen at any time, for any reason. When an emergency occurs, it is often necessary to evacuate all guests, volunteers, and staff immediately in order to prevent injury or harm. Therefore, having a detailed evacuation plan prepared in advance is extremely helpful.
When might guests/volunteers/staff need to be evacuated from an event?
There are a number of situations where your guests/volunteers/staff should be evacuated. These include:
• When a potentially dangerous/unidentified individual is on site
• When an individual on site poses a physical threat to themselves/others
• When the venue itself presents a safety concern
• When someone is ill or injured
What should be considered when creating an evacuation plan?
When creating a plan for the safe evacuation of your guests, there are a number of things to consider:
• The number of people at your event—Knowing the population size of your event will help you determine a realistic plan to safely evacuate everyone from the premises. Depending on the size of your event, you may wish to do test-runs to determine how quickly you can expect to have everyone evacuated.
• The number of and location of all exits—Knowing how many exits you have available and where they are located is important when determining where people should exit. It may be a good idea to equip your event leaders and staff with a map outlining all exits so that they can direct guests to the nearest exit available.
• How many people will require special assistance when exiting—It is important to consider the number of people who may need assistance during an evacuation and have a plan in place to help them. Be sure that wheelchair accessible exits are clearly marked as well.
If an emergency situation does arise, remember to instruct your staff/volunteers/guests to remain calm and proceed as quickly and safely as possible to their nearest exit. Ensuring your exits are clearly marked will help your guests identify where they are supposed to go.
When creating a plan for the safe evacuation of your guests, there are a number of things to consider:
• The number of people at your event—Knowing the population size of your event will help you determine a realistic plan to safely evacuate everyone from the premises. Depending on the size of your event, you may wish to do test-runs to determine how quickly you can expect to have everyone evacuated.
• The number of and location of all exits—Knowing how many exits you have available and where they are located is important when determining where people should exit. It may be a good idea to equip your event leaders and staff with a map outlining all exits so that they can direct guests to the nearest exit available.
• How many people will require special assistance when exiting—It is important to consider the number of people who may need assistance during an evacuation and have a plan in place to help them. Be sure that wheelchair accessible exits are clearly marked as well.
If an emergency situation does arise, remember to instruct your staff/volunteers/guests to remain calm and proceed as quickly and safely as possible to their nearest exit. Ensuring your exits are clearly marked will help your guests identify where they are supposed to go.