SURFACE FIRE SAFETY PROCEDURES

October 2011

Overview

• SNOLABP 2.7.1

• Definitions / Roles

• Review building occupant responsibilities

• Where is the Assembly area?

Always Remember: The safety of people is the most important consideration!

Definitions / Roles• “Supervisory Staff” as defined in the Ontario Fire Code

means those occupants of a building who have some delegated responsibility for the fire safety of other occupants under the fire safety plan.

• The specific roles defined for Supervisory Staff are:– Person(s) who discovers fire. – Person(s) escorting visitors to the building. – Person(s) assigned to assist persons with disabilities. – First Person to reach the Assembly Area. – Second Person to reach the Assembly Area. – Incident Controller = the first Supervisor/Manager to

reach the Assembly Area.

What’s a fire?

Discovery of Fire includes discovery of:• Flames; • Smoke: • Explosion;• Natural gas in the building;• Any emergency situation that warrants

immediate evacuation of the building occupants for their health and safety, may be treated as a fire evacuation.

IN CASE OF FIRE

• You have about 60 seconds to clear the building and reach safety in the Assembly area.

• People who die in fires are ones who succumb

to poisonous smoke and intense heat, not flames.

• The safety of people is the most important consideration.

Where’s the Assembly Area?

Where’s the Assembly Area?

Person who discovers a fire

• Notify occupants of the immediate area by shouting “Fire! Fire! Fire!”

• Activate the nearest fire alarm pull station. DO THIS IMMEDIATELY.

• Shutdown any hot work you are doing, e.g., cutting, welding, Bunsen burner.

• You may attempt to put out a small fire IF you are trained, IF you have the right type of extinguisher on-hand and IF you have an unobstructed escape route.(NB: See Section 2.6 for use of fire extinguishers.)

• Remain calm. Leave the area immediately!

Person who discovers a fire (cont’d)

• Go to the nearest stairwell/exit and leave the building. DO NOT use the elevator.(NB: Know where the nearest stairwell/exit is AND an alternate stairwell/exit. Know the locations where you work.)

• Go to the Assembly Area (North Parking Lot), be counted, and follow supervisory personnel instructions. DO NOT RE-ENTER the building.

• If you are escorting a visitor, or you are responsible for contractor personnel in the building, or you are responsible for assisting a disabled person with evacuation, lead them through this procedure. To assist disabled persons, see Appendix A.

If you hear the fire alarm…

Always assume a fire alarm means there is a fire.

• Shutdown any hot work you are doing, e.g., cutting, welding, Bunsen burner.

• Remain calm. Leave the area immediately!

• If the office/room you are in has the door closed, check carefully for fire or smoke in the hallway outside before you open the door.

• Use the back of your hand to touch the top of the door and the door handle.

• If it feels hot or warm, do not open the door. There could be fire on the other side of the door.

• If the door is cool, then brace your foot and shoulder against the door, and open it slightly. Be ready to close the door quickly against heat, smoke or draft.

• If you see smoke, do not enter the hallway. Follow the procedure below ‘If You Encounter Smoke’ in section 2.3.

If you hear the fire alarm…(cont’d)

• If the hallway is clear of smoke, then you may leave the area immediately!

• Go to the nearest stairwell/exit and leave the building. DO NOT use the elevator.(NB: Know where the nearest stairwell/exit is AND an alternate stairwell/exit. Know the locations where you work.)

• Go to the Assembly Area (North Parking Lot), be counted, and follow supervisory personnel instructions. DO NOT RE-ENTER the building.

• If you are escorting a visitor, or you are responsible for contractor personnel in the building, or you are responsible for assisting a disabled person with evacuation, lead them through this procedure. To assist disabled persons, see Appendix A.

If you encounter smoke…

• Consider using an alternate stairwell/exit

• Crouch low or crawl on the floor. Stay under the smoke.(NB: Heat and smoke rise, leaving cleaner air close to the floor.)

• If your way out is still blocked by smoke, heat or flames, then move to the most protected room and close the door. Do not lock the door.

• Plug the space under the door, and try to seal the door jam as much as possible. Likewise try to seal the ventilation openings in the ceiling.

• If the room has a window, open the window for fresh air.

If you encounter smoke…(cont’d)

• Call VALE INCO First Aid (8-705-692-2292), and tell them there is an emergency and you are unable to evacuate. Give them the names of all occupants, the floor and room number.

• If the phone isn’t working, then try to get attention from outsiders by shouting and waving a sheet of paper at the window.

• Don’t panic, and don’t jump out the window.

• Listen for instructions from fire fighters.

First person to reach the Assembly Area

First Person to reach the Assembly Area is the ‘supervisory’ person until relieved of these duties by the Incident Controller. Duties are:

Open the grey emergency box and take out the green folder marked SNOLAB Fire Response and follow the First Person – Checklist duties.

Immediately send the Second Person to reach the Assembly Area to Vale/Creighton First Aid to notify them of the fire/emergency. Ensure that they take the Second Person – Checklist with them.

Identify and record everyone who has left the building. Create a ‘safe’ list and a ‘missing’ persons list. Move people

from the ‘missing’ list to the ‘safe’ list once they are accounted for.

Identify and record any injured or special needs persons. Continue these tasks until the Incident Controller relieves you

of these duties.

Second person to reach the Assembly Area

Second Person to reach the Assembly Area is a designated ‘supervisory’ person until relieved of their duties by the Incident Controller. Duties are:

Take the Second Person – Checklist and proceed to Vale/Creighton First Aid Office to notify them that there is a fire/emergency at SNOLAB’s surface buildings.

Notify Vale/Creighton First Aid of any injured persons, and request first-aid assistance.

Check the sign-in book at Vale Creighton First Aid and the SNOLOAB tag-in board for any underground guests/visitors to SNOLAB so that they can be moved from the

‘missing’ list. Notify a SNOLAB Manager using the Afterhours On-Call Schedule to obtain phone

numbers. If a manager has assumed the position of Incident Controller at the Assembly Area, this step is not necessary.

Notify the Underground Lab Response Coordinator using the Vale/Creighton phone: 705-692-2752.

Do not re-enter the building until the ‘all-clear’ has been given. Continue these tasks until the Incident Controller relieves you of these duties.

Incident Controller

• The Incident Controller is the first SNOLAB Supervisor/Manager to reach the Assembly Area. The Incident Controller will fulfill the remaining fire/emergency response coordination roles detailed in the Incident Controller - Checklist. The Incident Controller may request relief and assistance from another supervisor or manager, but may not delegate this role downward.

• DO NOT re-enter the building until the ‘all clear’ has been given by The Incident Controller..

• Follow instructions from and give assistance as required by The Incident Controller.

Incident Controller - Checklist Ensure that all personnel are leaving, or have left, the building. Confirm that Vale/Creighton First Aid has been made aware of the

fire/emergency. Ensure the process of listing persons continues until all occupants

are accounted for. Retain the listing of people involved in the evacuation for reference and records. Retain the information of anyone who has been injured and as soon as practical complete an IIR (Incident/Injury/Condition Report) for each case.

Gather as much information about the nature and location of the fire as possible from the assembled personnel. Determine if the fire alarm was a false alarm.

If the incident was a false alarm, notify Vale/Creighton First Aid to cancel the Fire Department response.

Act as the contact person for the Fire Department and Vale/Creighton. Provide status updates as the situation changes, eg., fire under control, any injuries, any further requirements.

Incident Controller - Checklist Provide fire fighters with the red information folder, and information

about the building and its contents, including: any persons who are missing, injured, disabled or trapped inside the building; provide a key for access to all areas of the buildings. Provide keys to the fire alarm panels, and the FM-200 fire suppression system – keys are held at Vale/Creighton First Aid.

If requested by Fire Department personnel, arrange removal of vehicles from the parking lot.

Arrange for people in the Assembly Area to move away from the building as necessary. Move as a group and keep track of individuals. Move to the Vale/Creighton Auditorium, or Warm Room for shelter from severe weather if required. Move to the alternate assembly area, by the green transformer in the Vale/Creighton shut-down equipment lay-down area, if more distance from the incident is needed.

Ensure that the fire alarm and sprinklers are not silenced or turned off until instructed to do so by the Fire Department. In case of a Fire Drill or false alarm, silence and reset the fire alarm system

Incident Controller - Checklist Wait for the ‘all-clear’ from the Fire Department, to determine that the

building is safe to re-enter. If the FM-200 clean suppression system in the third floor IT Server

Room has operated, you must ensure that the Fire Department has purged the area with fresh air, to eliminate the possibility of toxic combustion by-products being left in the room and building in general. Do not allow personnel to re-enter the building until you have verified this.

Give instructions to personnel gathered in the Assembly Area. Depending on the incident situation, this may include: leaving site to go home, with clear instruction on when to return to work, or who they need to contact before returning to work; or waiting for the “all clear” to be announced before personnel can return to the building.

Complete a SNOLAB IIR (Incident/Injury/Condition Report) for a real fire or a false alarm, covering the cause and possible preventative actions. In case of a Fire Drill, complete a SNOLAB Fire Drill Record contained in Appendix F, and conduct a debriefing meeting with the fire drill participants. No IIR is required for a planned test of the fire alarm system and horns/bells

APPENDIX A - Assisting disabled persons in evacuation…

• These instructions are to provide guidance to assist disabled persons with evacuation for the building in case of an emergency. They cover disabilities affecting functions such as mobility, vision and hearing.

• These instructions may not be adequate or suitable for all persons. Ask the disabled person what assistance they might need in an emergency evacuation, and make sure you can provide it yourself or with help from others. Arrange additional help if needed. If you have difficulty, see your manager/supervisor about it. Do this before there is an emergency.

• If the person is on the first floor at the time of the alarm, they should leave the building with assistance

• If the person is able to move down the stairs with little or no assistance, they should leave the building with assistance

• If the person cannot move down the stairs:– Do not use the elevator.– Move to the nearest exit stairwell, make sure the fire door is closed, and remain there until

the fire department comes to assist with the evacuation.– Do what you can to be sure people evacuating know you and the disabled person are taking

refuge in the stairwell and not leaving (NB: they should report this at the Assembly area. The Person in Charge will advise the Fire Department).

– Only If smoke or fire evolve and become life threatening, should you attempt to move the person down the stairs.

Summary

• Remain calm and EXIT immediately!

• Follow procedures at the Assembly Area.

• Don’t move your vehicle.

• Don’t re-enter the building.

Remember: The safety of people is the most important consideration!

Q & A

• When is the next fire drill?

– Coming soon to SNOLAB… – Know your nearest exit and location of

Assembly Area.