Building specific, UK wide
Fire Evacuation Plans
When the alarm sounds, people need to know exactly what to do and where to go. A fire evacuation plan makes that happen. It sets out how your building is evacuated, who is responsible and how everyone reaches safety quickly and calmly. AL23 Safety creates clear, building specific plans across the UK, grounded in how your building actually works.
What is a fire evacuation plan?
The written procedure for getting everyone out
A fire evacuation plan, sometimes called a fire emergency evacuation plan or FEEP, is the written procedure for getting people out of a building safely in a fire. It covers how the alarm is raised, how people are alerted, the routes they take, who helps them and where they gather once they are out.
Whether you run an office, a warehouse, a school, a care home or a residential block, your plan needs to fit your building, your people and your risks, not a template.
Two things, one service
The term also covers the evacuation plan drawings displayed around a building, the simple floor plans showing escape routes, exits and assembly points. We can produce the written procedure, the display drawings or both.
The legal picture
An emergency plan is a legal duty
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Responsible Person must put procedures in place for serious and imminent danger, which includes a clear plan for evacuating the building.
It follows from your fire risk assessment
The plan should follow directly from your fire risk assessment, reflecting the real risks, the people present and how they would get out. A risk assessment will very often identify the need for a documented plan. If yours is missing, out of date or generic, it is worth putting right.
Choosing the right strategy
There is no single way to evacuate a building
The right approach depends on the building, its occupants and its fire protection. Getting this right is where real fire safety knowledge matters.
Simultaneous evacuation
Everyone leaves at once when the alarm sounds. This is the most common approach and suits most workplaces.
Phased evacuation
The floor of the fire and the floor above leave first, then the other floors in turn to avoid crowding the escape routes. It needs a two stage or voice alarm.
Progressive horizontal
People are moved sideways into an adjacent fire compartment rather than straight out, buying time for those who cannot move quickly.
Stay put or defend in place
Residents not directly affected stay in place while the fire service deals with the fire. This only works where the building's compartmentation genuinely supports it and must always be assessed by a competent person.
Competent assessment requiredStaff alarm evacuation
Staff are alerted discreetly first so they can begin a planned evacuation before the general alarm sounds. Used where an immediate general alarm is not appropriate.
We help you choose and document the strategy that genuinely fits your building. We never recommend stay put, phased or staff alarm schemes without the proper assessment behind them.
What a good plan includes
Everything your people need, in one place
- The evacuation strategy for your building
- What to do on discovering a fire and on hearing the alarm
- How the alarm is raised and how the fire service is called
- Key escape routes, including alternatives if one is blocked
- The role of fire wardens or marshals
- Assembly points and how a roll call is taken
- Any power or process shut down needed before leaving
- Arrangements for people who need help to evacuate
- Training and drill requirements
- How and when the plan is reviewed
Helping everyone get out
Not everyone can evacuate the same way. People with mobility, sensory or other needs may require a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan or PEEP, setting out the specific help and equipment they need, such as evacuation chairs or a buddy system. We make sure your plan accounts for everyone in the building, not just those who can leave unaided.
Training and drills
A plan only works if people know it. The law requires you to train staff on your procedures and to run regular drills. We recommend practising with different routes blocked so people are not thrown if their usual exit is unavailable. Keeping a record of your training and drills also helps you demonstrate that you have met your duties.
Why AL23 Safety
A plan your people can follow under pressure
A good evacuation plan is built on an understanding of how fire and smoke move through a building, not a fill in the blanks template. Because we have in-house fire engineering capability, your plan is grounded in your building's real fire strategy, its compartmentation and its escape routes.
We write plans in plain English that your staff can actually follow under pressure and we keep them practical and proportionate to your building. We work with employers, building owners, facilities managers and duty holders right across the UK.
Get a fire evacuation plan
From scratch, a review or drawings for display
Whether you need a plan from scratch, a review of an existing one or evacuation drawings for display, we can help. Get in touch and we will build something your people can rely on when it matters most.
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