OG 4016 Evacuation of Personnel at an Incident

Issued By: OPERATIONS (S. Thurber)
Approved By: Fire Chief William H. Mosher 
Date of Issue: 1997; 1998/11/30
Revision Date: 2010/10/01

PURPOSE: 

To define the procedure to be used when the Incident Commander and/or Safety Officer has determined an area must be evacuated.

OBJECTIVE:

To ensure an area is properly evacuated when an Incident Commander or Safety Officer deems it to be unsafe. 

SCOPE:

This operating guideline applies to career and volunteer member of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency. 

PROCEDURE: 

In the event that conditions within a building or in an area of an emergency scene become (or are forecast to become) unacceptably risky for firefighters, the Incident Commander must signal an evacuation.

Sector Officers, Officers and Firefighters are responsible to respond immediately to an evacuation signal and leave the hazardous area without delay. Crews must stay together during an evacuation.

As soon as crews have evacuated the area, the Incident Commander must order a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) and ensure that all Firefighters are out of danger.


Evacuation Signals:

There are 3 evacuation signals that may be used to signal an evacuation of Firefighters:

1.    Radio Transmission

2.    Apparatus Air Horns

3.    Handheld Air Horns 

1-    Radio Transmission of an Evacuation Signal

The Incident Commander shall send an evacuation signal by radio, using “Emergency Traffic”. Requesting emergency traffic via dispatch will accomplish two things:

•    Firefighters on the talk group who hear “emergency traffic” are required to stop transmitting and clear the channel for the IC, and

•    Dispatch will send “tones” (tones position 2 on the Centracom console) for 5 to 10 seconds. This distinctive noise will alert firefighters of an urgent safety radio message is about to be sent. This will reduce the chances of Firefighters not hearing the order to evacuate.

After the tones are sent, the IC will issue the order to evacuate, using the word “Evacuate” and describing the area that must be evacuated.

Example:

IC: “Main Street Command to Dispatch, Emergency Traffic” 

---- Tones are broadcast by dispatch---

 IC: “Main Street Command to all units, evacuate the building. I say again, evacuate the building. Sector Officers report when your personnel are clear.”

When the evacuation is complete and all firefighters are accounted for, the IC may terminate the emergency traffic and allow regular communications. 


2-    Apparatus Air Horns

Apparatus air horns may be used to augment the evacuation signal. When so ordered, this will be done by sounding the horns in 3 short blasts; each blast shall be approximately 3 seconds in duration with approximately 5 seconds pause between blasts.

3-    Handheld Air Horns

Handheld air horns may be used to augment the evacuation signal. When ordered, this is done near the doorway of the building to be evacuated. The horns shall be sounded in 3 short blasts each blast shall be approximately 3 seconds in duration with approximately 5 seconds pause between blasts.

Response to an Evacuation Signal:

If an evacuation signal is heard, all personnel must react immediately. Firefighters inside a building must stay with their partners and remain calm. Follow hose line or lifeline out (do not run). Stay near the walls and away from the centre of the room. Leave the area as quickly as possible. Personnel working outside must alert their partner or team members and leave area at once. All activities will stop immediately and all interior fire personnel will immediately evacuate the building. All fire companies operating at or near the building will stop operations unless expressly ordered not to do so by the IC.

All Personnel Must Be Accounted For:

The IC is responsible to ensure that the evacuated personnel are directed to a designated secure area and accounted. A PAR must be completed and the results immediately communicated to the IC. 

Personnel will remain in the accountability area until reassigned by the IC.

This procedure applies to the Safety Officer should he/she detects or becomes aware of a need for immediate evacuation. The Safety Officer after sounding an evacuation must immediately apprise the IC of the situation that predicated the need for evacuation, either through a face to face briefing or over the radio if a face to face is not practical.

RELATED POLICIES/ OPERATING GUIDELINES:
•    OG 5002 Personal Accountability System
•    OG 4052 Radio Communications
•    OG 4042 C & D Recycling Plant Response


OPERATING GUIDELINE REVIEW:

This operating guideline shall be reviewed when/if there are changes/amendments to the procedure followed for/during the evacuation of personnel at an incident. 

ATTACHMENTS/ APPENDICIES:

•    Incident Command System