Answers to common questions about fire in high-rise office buildings.Q. Why isn't a building always evacuated e·vac·u·ate v. e·vac·u·at·ed, e·vac·u·at·ing, e·vac·u·ates v.tr. 1. a. To empty or remove the contents of. b. To create a vacuum in. 2. when there's a fire? Total evacuation evacuation /evac·u·a·tion/ (e-vak?u-a´shun) 1. an emptying. 2. catharsis; emptying of the bowels. e·vac·u·a·tion n. of a high-rise building high-rise building Multistory building taller than the maximum height people are willing to walk up, thus requiring vertical mechanical transportation. The introduction of safe passenger elevators made practical the erection of buildings more than four or five stories tall. is usually, not necessary and only hinders the efforts of firefighters. Immediate evacuation of the fire floor and the floor above where the alarm will be sounding, is usually all that is necessary. The occupants of the floors above will be guided by the instructions of the fire safety director or fire wardens Q. Why didn't the alarm go off when there was a fire in my office building? Experience has shown that the most critical floors fire are the fire floor and the floor above. Therefore, in high-rise buildings an alarm will sound only on those floors. However, in accordance with a predetermined pre·de·ter·mine v. pre·de·ter·mined, pre·de·ter·min·ing, pre·de·ter·mines v.tr. 1. To determine, decide, or establish in advance: "fire safety and evacuation plan," the building's fire safety director is required to make appropriate announcements and give instructions, as conditions dictate, over the public address system, during any fire or emergency. Q. What is a fire safety and evacuation plan? A fire safety and evacuation plan is essentially an ongoing educational program about fire prevention and evacuation that prepares every occupant occupant n. 1) someone living in a residence or using premises, as a tenant or owner. 2) a person who takes possession of real property or a thing which has no known owner, intending to gain ownership. (See: occupancy) of the building to react confidently when there is an alarm of fire. It is impossible to design stairways to accommodate all the occupants of high-rise buildings at the same time. They are, in reality, vertical cities with up to 10,000 or more, people in them. Therefore, it is necessary to have a plan to safely evacuate e·vac·u·ate v. 1. To empty or remove the contents of. 2. To excrete or discharge waste matter, especially of the bowels. the endangered en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. occupants during a fire. The fire safety and evacuation plan must be designed and implemented by a certified See certification. fire safety director who knows his building and has pre-planned what exits should be used in varying fire or emergency situations. Q. What is a fire safety director? The law requires that a trained, certified building employee (fire safety director, deputy or a building evacuation supervisor) must be on duty while an office building is occupied. He/she must immediately report to the fire command station in the event of a fire or emergency to implement the building's fire safety evacuation plan and assist the fire department upon their arrival. A deputy fire safety director must be on duty when the fire safety director is not available. It also requires that a building evacuation supervisor who has been trained by the fire safety director be on duty during non-business hours. A chart listing the names of the fire safety director, the deputy fire safety director and the floor wardens must be posted in a conspicuous con·spic·u·ous adj. 1. Easy to notice; obvious. 2. Attracting attention, as by being unusual or remarkable; noticeable. See Synonyms at noticeable. location on every floor and in each tenancy A situation that arises when one individual conveys real property to another individual by way of a lease. The relation of an individual to the land he or she holds that designates the extent of that person's estate in real property. . The building manager can tell you where you may locate the fire safety director in your building. Q. Who are floor wardens? Floor wardens are tenants of the building who are trained by the fire safety director to take the necessary action if there is a fire on his or her floor, and to implement the fire safety and evacuation plan. There is a floor warden WARDEN. A guardian; a keeper. This is the name given to various officers: as, the warden of the prison; the wardens of the port of Philadelphia; church wardens. designated for every floor and deputy floor wardens for each tenancy. They are essentially the "eyes and ears" of the fire safety director during those critical moments when the building's fire alarm system activates and the Fire Department has not yet arrived. Q. Are fire drills really necessary? Yes. They familiarize all occupants, not only the fire wardens, with the evacuation procedure and other parts of the fire safety plan. Fire drills provide an opportunity to review how to call the Fire Department, how to use the floor warden phone, the location of exit stairs, and other matters relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc fire safety. The Fire Department recommends quarterly drills because of personnel turnover, but semi-annual drills are required by law It is important that all occupants participate Although the Fire Department does not conduct fire drills, it does inspect hi-rise office buildings for fire code violations. Q. Why don't the elevators work when the fire alarm sounds? Certain automatic fire alarm devices recall elevators to the their lowest level for use by firefighters. Use of elevators can be dangerous during a dire. Do so only if directed by firefighters. Q. Shouldn't I go to the roof if there is a fire in my building? No. The roof should be used as a last resort. It is best to get below the fire. Heat and smoke rise and can create chimney-like conditions very rapidly in a stairway stairway or staircase Series or flight of steps that provides a means of moving from one level to another. The earliest stairways seem to have been built with walls on both sides, as in Egyptian pylons dating from the 2nd millennium BC. . They can easily trap you as you go to the roof Following the instructions of the fire safety director, particularly regarding which stairway is safe, and the implementation of an evacuation plan rehearsed through fire drills, is the key to your safety. Q. What should I do if fire or smoke block my escape? Remain calm and, if possible, get to a room with an outside window. Seal cracks around the door and cover vents with clothing or towels. If you can, open the window a little at the top and bottom to admit fresh air and wave something to attract rescuers' attention. If there is a telephone, call the Fire Department and remain in contact with the dispatcher Software that determines what pending tasks should be done next and assigns the available resources to accomplish it. It may execute other programs or generate a list for human operators to follow. See scheduler. . If There is a Fire in Your Office Building * EVACUATE THE AREA IF YOU DISCOVER SMOKE OR FIRE Close the doors to contain the fire. Exit via the the nearest fire stair stair n. 1. A series or flight of steps; a staircase. Often used in the plural. 2. One of a flight of steps. [Middle English, from Old English to at least two floors below the fire. * IMMEDIATELY ACTIVATE THE BUILDING'S FIRE ALARM Pull the fire alarm located near the entrance to the stairway on each floor. When you pull the alarm box it will notify the fire command station, the fire safety director, and transmit an alarm to the Fire Department. * THEN CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT A telephone call to the Fire Department must also be made from a safe location to give details about the specific location of the fire. * IF THE ALARM SOUNDS ON YOUR FLOOR Assemble at an entrance to a fire stairway and listen or instruction from the fire safety director over the public address system, or through your floor warden. Know who the floor warden for your occupancy is. Once the Fire Department arrives, they will give instructions through the fire safety director. * IF THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS During fire drills you should go over what actions you should take if specific instructions are not announced over the public address system or given by the fire warden. The fire floor and floor above must be evacuated immediately, but, whenever possible, under the direction of the fire safety director or the floor warden. When evacuating a floor other than the fire floor or floor above, the floor warden must make contact with the fire command station over the floor warden telephone. * FEEL A DOOR BEFORE OPENING IT. IF IT IS HOT, DO NOT OPEN IT A hot door means that there is fire on the other side. This, and other topics should be discussed during your building's fire drills, in addition to practicing what you would do during a fire. * CLOSE, BUT DO NOT LOCK, ALL DOORS BEHIND YOU A closed door slows the spread of fire from room to room. You should not, however, lock the doors because you will not be able to make your way back if you need to, and because firefighters will have to force the locked doors in order to fight the fire or to conduct a search for victims. * DON'T TURN BACK FOR PERSONAL BELONGINGS personal belongings npl → efectos mpl personales Even conditions that don't appear threatening can change suddenly. It can be a deadly mistake to return for belongings belongings Noun, pl the things that a person owns or has with him or her Noun 1. belongings - something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone; "that hat is my property"; "he is a man of . * AND DO NOT USE ELEVATORS Elevators are not reliable and very dangerous and should not be used under fire conditions. Be guided by the instructions of your fire safety director and FDNY FDNY Fire Department New York (New York City, NY, USA) FDNY Fort Drum, New York (US Army) personnel on the scene before using the elevator elevator, in machinery elevator, in machinery, device for transporting people or goods from one level to another. The term is applied to the enclosed structures as well as the open platforms used to provide vertical transportation in buildings, large ships, . * FINALLY, ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT SMOKE RISES - SO KEEP LOW! |
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