Facilities Management and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)
Fire Drill Procedures
The purpose of a fire drill is to be able to anticipate what can happen during an actual emergency and also to provide for prompt, effective action.
The goals of a fire drill are to minimize loss of life and personal injury, to protect property with a minimum amount of damage, and to restore normal operations as soon as possible.
The Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office and the Louisiana Office of Risk Management requires at least one fire drill per year in all occupied academic buildings and facilities.
Two fire drills each semester must be conducted in ULM Residence Halls, one during daytime hours and one at night. The drills should be conducted when the highest number of students can be expected to be inside the residence hall.
Instructions
Before the Drill
ULM Police, Monroe Fire Department, and alarm monitoring companies will be notified. No fire trucks will be called during a fire drill. All other functions will be tested, such as the alarm panel, pull station, strobe lights, etc.
Building Coordinators will be responsible for notifying the department heads, deans, directors, etc. in advance of the drill. This is to avoid confusion so that important meetings, classroom activities, tests, experiments, etc. can be scheduled appropriately.
During the Drill
- Upon hearing the fire alarm, everyone must leave the building immediately through the closest exit.
- Walk, don’t run.
- ALWAYS USE STAIRWELLS; DO NOT USE ELEVATORS! If there is a delay getting through the exit, do not shove. Wait your turn. Keep calm. DO NOT DELAY leaving the building.
- Forget valuables, save your life! Assist any handicapped person or visitor in the building.
- NEVER ASSUME AN ALARM IS A TEST!
- Be sure that no one enters the building during the drill.
- Make sure that everyone in the building did evacuate and is at a safe distance.
- Make sure that everyone is present and accounted for. It may be helpful to assign one person for each floor or area of the building to be responsible for ensuring employees on that floor or in that area have evacuated.
After the Drill
Make sure that no one reenters the building until the alarm is turned off and the building is deemed safe to reenter.
Meet with building personnel to discuss results and ways to improve the evacuation procedures for the building. This is the purpose of the fire drill. Carefully and critically identify weaknesses and problems and develop better evacuation procedures.
Train building occupants on any new procedures developed from the drill.