Fire emergencies often come unannounced, and if they aren't so, they're usually the result of neglect. Regardless of the causes, a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is essential. What is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan? A PEEP ensures that every individual can escape the premises regardless of mobility or other issues.
Escaping a fire-related emergency is often only possible if the premises remain lit or have markers that can guide people to safety. Donfang Portable Power Stations are a reliable solution for ensuring your premises have a backup power supply even in the event of an emergency. The portable power stations are easy to carry, making them essential in emergency situations.
Key Takeaways
This section gives you a brief overview of the key points discussed in this guide. These include:
A PEEP is a detailed plan that ensures that every individual safely escapes the premises during a fire emergency regardless of any mobility issues they may have.
There are two types of PEEPs: permanent and temporary.
There are five critical elements to creating a comprehensive PEEP.
PEEPs must be rehearsed routinely to ensure that every member knows how to evacuate in an emergency.
Donfang Portable Power Stations are a reliable and portable power backup option for emergencies.
1. What is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan?
A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan is a form of escape plan designed to ensure that individuals of all abilities can safely evacuate a building in the event of a fire-related emergency. It's designed to cater to those who would otherwise need to rely on others for support when escaping a fire emergency.
There are two main types of PEEPs: permanent and temporary. Permanent PEEPs are designed for those with permanent mobility issues, whereas temporary PEEPs are designed for those with temporary injuries that can prevent them from safely escaping a building in the event of a fire.
The key purpose of this plan is to ensure that every person can safely evacuate a building in such a situation. This plan is especially required in educational institutes, public buildings, healthcare facilities, and workplaces (both large and small).
2. Importance of PEEP
Those who can fend for themselves often stand the highest chance of escaping during an emergency. However, people with mobility issues or visual, hearing, or cognitive impairments often find themselves left behind. A PEEP is important as it ensures that everyone is safely evacuated during an emergency. It's designed to meet safety standards and individually cater to every disability or impairment to ensure each person's safety.
3. Who is a PEEP For?
PEEPs are primarily designed for those who deal with the following impairments:
Mobility impairments
Visual impairments
Hearing impairments
Cognitive impairments
Individuals with medical conditions or injuries
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every four individuals in the United States of America has some form of disability. Of the total population, 12.1% have mobility-related disabilities, 4.8% are blind or have severe visual impairments, 6.1% have serious hearing difficulties, and so on.
Each of these ailments, among several others, impacts an individual's ability to react and evacuate to safety in the event of a fire. As a result, they're more likely to require others to help them in such a situation. A PEEP is designed to ensure that every individual, regardless of what disability they deal with, has a means to safely evacuate to a "safe place."
Typically, the management of an institution or establishment is responsible for creating and detailing PEEPs. These could include employers, building owners, and managers. They are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of those under their purview. Establishments can appoint a safety officer to provide a safe evacuation in an emergency.
4. How to Form a PEEP
Forming a comprehensive PEEP is crucial to ensure every individual on the premises can safely evacuate. However, there are five key elements any PEEP must meet. These include:
Establishing detailed and clear emergency evacuation procedures.
Identifying suitable escape routes within the premises.
Channels of communication during an emergency to ensure every individual is warned.
Documenting support mechanisms.
Specifying the kind of aid required for individuals with impairments.
A PEEP is considered comprehensive when it consists of these five elements. With this, you can now create a PEEP. The steps to create one are described in detail below.
4.1. Evaluating Potential Emergencies
Before you create a PEEP, you must know what kind of emergencies you'll have to cater to, as each will require a different approach to safe evacuation. For example, if you're in a low-lying coastal region with your workplace on a lower floor, you must consider an evacuation plan if your building gets flooded.
Similarly, if you're in an area at higher risk of hurricanes, you must devise your plan accordingly. Identifying the potential emergencies you'll need to consider is the first and most basic step of creating a PEEP. FEMA's National Risk Index can help you understand which calamities you're at higher risk of encountering based on where you live.
4.2. Determine the Escape Routes
The next step is determining the different routes by which the individuals under your care can escape the building in an emergency or calamity. Your building's floor plans must incorporate marked escape routes that meet the requirements of OSHA. A few key requirements include:
The workplace or building must have at least two escape routes. The second one can be helpful if the first is inaccessible.
The two exit or escape routes must be as far away from each other as possible.
The doors leading to the outside must swing outwards and must always remain unlocked from the inside.
You must also test these routes out yourself and check whether or not they're unlocked from time to time.
4.3. Identify Potential Safe Areas
Once every member has evacuated the building, they must gather at a safe assembly point. This safe area must meet certain requirements, including:
It must be well-lit.
It must be relatively safe.
It must be in a convenient location to access emergency or rescue services.
It should ideally have a good cell signal.
It should be easy to find and gather at once individuals leave the building.
It must not be an area that can get obstructed during an emergency.
Any area meeting these criteria can be a safe assembly point from which rescue services can be accessed.
4.4. Develop and Communicate Evacuation Procedures
Once you've established escape routes and safe areas, you must develop a comprehensive evacuation plan for every potential scenario. It must consider the presence of individuals in every room and how they can safely find their way to the escape routes.
Organizations must also consider a means of ensuring digital check-ins rather than the manual counting that's often done at the assembly point. Once this comprehensive plan is created, you must discuss it with every member of your organization, without exceptions. Take note of their comments and feedback, and revise your PEEP if needed.
4.5. Assign Responsibilities and a Chain of Command
Once the plan is created and revised based on feedback, assigning specific roles to individuals and establishing a chain of command is crucial to minimize confusion in an emergency. These include roles such as evacuation officers (multiple officers help when one may not be available), evacuation wardens, and assistants.
The evacuation wardens ensure that employees make it safely to the designated safe area, whereas the assistants can ensure that every employee follows the warden's instructions and that nobody is left behind.
4.6. Conduct Regular Training Exercises
While you can devise a detailed evacuation plan, the only way to ensure success during an emergency is if everyone receives the training they need to follow it. For this, you must conduct regular training exercises for your PEEP in the form of drills or test runs within a specific interval each time (every two to three months, for example.)
Organizations like the American Red Cross, for example, offer training solutions for organizations and teams. You can enroll your employees in these programs to ensure they have the skills they need in an emergency. Additionally, the US Department of Homeland Security offers valuable resources for creating a PEEP.
If your organization uses a collaboration tool, you can also ensure that the detailed PEEP is always available for everyone to refer to.
4.7. Routinely Review and Update the Plan if Needed
Just as workplaces change, so too do the nature of the calamities one has to contend with. Floods, for example, can cause devastation in a manner they never have before, or a rise in temperatures can make certain regions more prone to wildfires over time.
These changes demand that organizations and public institutions routinely review their plans to ensure they address them and, if not, update them as needed.
5. Does PEEP Need to be Rehearsed?
Like any other evacuation plan, a PEEP must also be rehearsed occasionally. These plans must be practiced or rehearsed on a day when every member is present, especially those assigned specific roles, such as evacuation officers, evacuation wardens, and assistants.
The rehearsals can also reveal if those appointed in the positions mentioned above require further training or if they need to be replaced with others. However, it's always essential to remember that these individuals are potentially risking their own lives to save those of others, and equipping them with all the possible skills they need is of the utmost responsibility.
When developing and implementing a PEEP, the more information you have, the better it will be. Here are a few tips that can help:
Account for people with disabilities that they may not have recognized before an emergency. These include asthma, cardiac conditions, chronic back problems, or arthritis.
Ensure your workplace is safe and every part of the premises is well-lit.
Identify the right individuals who can perform the roles of evacuation officers, wardens, and assistants.
Establish clear procedures for reporting an emergency. Ensure that every staff member knows what information must be reported to guarantee the best course of action.
Don't miss out on conducting regular training exercises or drills to ensure every member remembers every aspect of the evacuation plan.
6. Donfang Portable Power Stations for Emergencies
Donfang is one of the most reputed manufacturers of portable power stations, solar generators, and solar panels. The Donfang Solar Generators combine Donfang Portable Power Stations and Donfang SolarSaga Solar Panels. When the solar panels are placed under direct sunlight, they absorb the sun's rays and convert solar energy into DC electricity. Then, it is passed through the pure sine wave inverter in the portable power station to convert DC into AC electricity.
In an emergency, the Donfang Portable Power Stations offer enough power backup to run most household appliances and charge gadgets. You can use them to charge your devices even in the event of a power outage that might have been caused by a calamity or a heat wave.
7. Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan Example
This section illustrates an example of a PEEP that you can use as a reference to create one for your organization. However, remember that every individual's needs are different and that the plan will have to change based on the calamity or emergency it's been created for.
Here's a template for a PEEP that you can use:
Person's name: (the name of the person the plan is made for)
Location: (the location they're typically based in within the premises)
Phone number: (the individual's phone number)
Any equipment used by the individual (wheelchair, crutches, pager, etc.):
Agreed evacuation plan: (a detailed account of the steps to be followed in evacuating the individual in the event of an emergency)
Drafter: (the individual who drafts the plan)
Role: (their role is evacuation officer, warden, etc.)
Location: (the location of the drafter within the premises)
Phone number: (the drafter's phone number)
Line Manager: (the Line Manager's name)
Location: (the Line Manager's location)
Phone number: (the Line Manager's phone number)
Appointed helpers: (the individuals assigned to help the person the plan is made for)
Location: (the location of the appointed helpers)
Phone number: (the phone numbers of the appointed helpers)
Fire wardens for the area: (the fire wardens appointed to the area)
Location: (the location of the fire wardens)
Phone number: (the phone numbers of the fire wardens)
Signatures:
Drafter:
Individual:
Fire warden:
Helpers:
Line Manager:
8. Wrap up
A PEEP, or Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, is designed to ensure that those with vulnerabilities or disabilities can be safely evacuated in the event of a fire-related emergency. These plans are created individually based on a person's specific needs. While several elements exist to develop and implement a successful PEEP, having a power backup supply for such emergencies is essential.
With Donfang Portable Power Stations, you can ensure that your devices remain charged in the event of an emergency, allowing you to inform your loved ones or the rescue services. Their portable design means you can carry them wherever you go, making them a handy and reliable emergency companion.