Fire Safety

Fire Emergency Action Plan

Locate and Pull Fire Alarm: Find, if possible,and activate the nearest fire alarm. The alarms are typically red and located by exit doors.

Close doors: Doing so usually slows the spread of fire and reduces smoke damage.

Exit building: All building occupants should exit the building by way of the closest exit. Consult the evacuation plan if you are unsure.

Fire Stairwells: Multi-floor buildings are built with fire rated stairwells. All evacuation exits from upper floors of a building should always be by the stairwell, never by the elevators. Evacuation should always occur downward and persons should always keep moving, never congregating in the stairwells.

Stay Low: If there is smoke or heat, one should stay as low as possible. Both heat and smoke are killers but more people are killed or injured by asphyxiation than actual burns from a fire.

Interior Doors: When you are opening an interior door, check the handle for heat; if it is hot do not open it. It is likely that fire exists on the other side and tremendous pressure could exist on the other side as well. One should go to a window and signal for help. All should assemble outside (Marshaling Area) and remain outside until a head count can be taken and accountability of all occupants of the building is ensured. All should remain in the area until the emergency has been cleared or until someone with authority has released everyone. Call 911. If there is no sign of emergency personnel, go to the closest phone and call the security officer at 286-8055. He/she will activate the emergency response system.

Returning to the Building: Under no circumstances should anyone re-enter a building until the all-clear signal is given by the fire department, police department or safety office representative.

Portable Fire Extinguishers: An important part of fire safety is to know where to find fire extinguishers and to know how to use them if needed.

Purpose of Portable Fire Extinguishers: The purpose of fire extinguishers is to provide a first aid attack on any small incipient fire. Only trained employees or students should attempt to extinguish a fire.

An extinguisher is designed to extinguish small kitchen-type or trashcan fires. Under no circumstance should any person try to fight a fire with an extinguisher that is not of that nature. The safety office provides annual training on fire extinguisher use to all employees and students.

Fire Extinguisher/Fire Types: UMW primarily uses Multi Purpose ABC Type Fire Extinguishers. A fire extinguisher is used by applying the PASS

Method:

Start from eight feet back.
“P” Pull the ring pin.
“A” Aim at the base of the fire, not the smoke or flame.
“S” Squeeze the handle to activate the extinguisher.
“S” Sweep back and forth at the base of the fire
* Remember: the extinguishers will last only 8 to 10 seconds.