How to Perform a Successful Fire Drill at Work

Performing a Work Fire Drill

In 2023, the United States Fire Administration estimates that nonresidential fires caused over $3 billion in losses and 1,200 injuries. They determined cooking to be the overall leading cause of these fires but also noted a 49% increase in fires that were unintentionally set or a result of carelessness.

Establishing fire drill procedures in a workplace is one of the most important things you can do to keep employees safe during an emergency. In this guide, learn about the importance of fire safety planning and how to effectively execute fire drills at work.

Why Are Fire Drills Important?

While it may seem obvious, the primary goal of a fire drill is to protect the lives of building inhabitants. Even a small fire can quickly grow out of control, putting people at risk of burns, smoke inhalation and panic. Knowing what to do is one thing, but practicing these procedures is essential to keep people prepared in case of an emergency.

Fire drills also have other essential functions:

Testing equipment: Regular fire drills are key to testing the performance of fire safety equipment like alarms. They are also a good opportunity to inspect equipment like fire extinguishers, sprinklers and emergency lighting.
Measuring response times: Using a fire drill, your workplace can gauge response times, including how long it takes employees to evacuate and emergency services to arrive.

Fire drills should be a part of a wider fire safety plan at your workplace that encompasses considerations such as:

Hazards from equipment or chemicals.
Exit routes and egress points.
Clear signage.
Preparations for workers with disabilities.
Entry points for emergency personnel.

5 Steps in Preparing for a Work Fire Drill

When planning your workplace fire drill procedures, preparation is key. The more established and complete your plan is, the better your fire drills will run — and the more prepared your workplace will be for an emergency.

Consider these five steps in preparing for a fire drill.

1. Know Where Fires Are Most Likely to Start

Outline areas in your building or facility that are at higher risk of fires. Because cooking is a leading cause of fires, kitchens are a prime location to note in your safety plan. Areas with heating equipment and high concentrations of electrical components are also spaces that merit consideration.

Establishing some of the most likely origination points for a fire is important when preparing your evacuation plan. If individuals need to pass or go through these areas to exit the building, they may be at risk of being trapped in the event of a real emergency.

Evaluate your fire safety routes and determine which ones may need to be adjusted based on your evaluations. Individuals in the vicinity may require additional safety briefings to ensure they know alternate evacuation routes.

2. Establish Goals

When composing your fire drill procedures, set goals for relevant benchmarking. A few questions to help you craft these goals include:

How long should it take employees to take action once the drill starts?
What are equipment and other relevant shutdown procedures?
How long will a full building evacuation take?

Once you establish these benchmarks for your fire evacuation plan, you can establish grades for your fire drills, such as:

Successful: Everyone evacuated successfully in the shortest time interval.
Needs improvement: Evacuation took longer than projected, or individuals encountered unplanned obstacles.
Failure: Individuals did not evacuate, meet the targeted time frame or use their correct egress or muster point.

3. Verify Compliance

While fire safety regulations may differ depending on workplace type, all employers need to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards on fire prevention and emergency action plans (EAPs).

A few OSHA fire drill requirements to keep in mind include:

Keeping a plan in writing and available for employee review.
Informing employees about fire hazards and protection equipment.
Controlling flammable or combustible waste materials.
Identifying who is responsible for maintaining fire protection equipment.

4. Train Employees

Training Should Include

Employee fire safety training should include:

How to respond to the fire alarm: Outline what employees should do when they hear a fire alarm. Clearly identify and label things like emergency shut-off switches and point out necessary signage and floor plans.
How to use fire safety equipment: Training should include how to access and use equipment like fire extinguishers, blankets, ladders and fire hoses. For workplaces with chemical fire risks, educate employees on the dangers of toxic fumes.
How to evacuate: The best way to show employees what to do during a fire drill is a demonstration. Take them through their exit route, pointing out potential obstacles and alternate routes. For example, if offices are on level three, but the meeting rooms are on level five, show them the right stairwell to exit from during a meeting.
Where to meet up after evacuation: All employees should know where to meet up after they’ve evacuated the building. This checkpoint, or muster point, should be far enough away from the building to avoid danger but easily reachable for the employees assigned there. If your building is very large, consider multiple muster points for those assigned to different areas.
Considerations for accessibility: Employees with disabilities must have actionable emergency accommodations. For example, if your egress paths require the use of steps, assign an evacuation assistant to help them. You can also include an evacuation chair with your emergency equipment to assist in moving individuals with mobility challenges.

Sharing your EAP with every new employee, walking them through the fire drill procedures and pointing out their designated egress and muster points is essential.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

Even though the purpose of a fire drill is to practice for an emergency, it’s also a good idea to perform rehearsals or practices for your fire drills. These allow employees to go through the motions of a drill a few times before the real thing.

You can hold a few fire drill practices on a single day or schedule multiple in advance. Some companies practice a few days before a drill is scheduled to identify any problems or obstacles before the real fire drill.

Template for Your Fire Evacuation Plan

To get you started on your fire drill preparations, follow this template:

Safety leaders	Identify the people responsible for the EAP and ensure a swift and safe evacuation. Include contact information for each safety leader.
Evacuation route 1	Establish the primary evacuation route for the building.
Evacuation Route 2	Establish a secondary evacuation route for the building.
Location of route maps	Note where all evacuation route maps are posted in the building.
Location of EAP	Highlight where the emergency action plan is posted.
Muster points	Note where all employees will convene after evacuation.
Potential fire hazards	Identify all potential fire hazards in the building and necessary mitigation methods.
Fire Equipment Log	Document all fire safety equipment and the date of the last inspection.
Fire Drill Log	Record the date of each fire drill with a grade and notes.

Protect Your Workplace With Fire Safety Equipment From National Fire Supply

To protect your employees and workplace from fire dangers, you need to have the best safety equipment on hand. National Fire Supply offers a wide range of fire safety equipment to protect your building and people. You can order all classes of fire extinguishers, parts for sprinkler systems, signage for extinguishers and hazards and much more online.

Reach out to our team to learn more about our fire safety products.