If You Can’t Stand the Heat
By Charles Hueter
Consider the following scenario and discuss the critical safety questions listed below with school district employees.
Imagine you are in the school cafeteria. It’s lunchtime and the room is bustling with activity. Students are in line to get food and sitting next to their friends. The cash register sounds off as brown paper bags crackle. Kids are chatting and you let your mind drift to the schedule for the rest of the afternoon.
A commotion inside the kitchen catches your attention. People are yelling and it sounds like cooking trays and utensils are falling to the floor. Screaming, the students start rushing from the serving line, shoving their way past those in front and frightening others around them. You can see smoke wafting up to the kitchen ceiling. After a moment, you realize the word they are screaming is “FIRE!”
What do you do?
Critical Questions
- What is your role in this situation? What are the roles of nearby staff?
- Do you exit the cafeteria as quickly as possible or do you stay to keep an eye on things? Do you enter the kitchen to help? Do you dial 9-1-1?
- Do you know where the fire exits are? Do the kids? Are there tables, chairs, or other objects blocking those exists? Did staff mistakenly lock the exits from the inside or chain them closed during the summer break or over the weekend?
- Is there a fire alarm nearby? Are students, objects, or flames blocking access to it? Is there a phone nearby? Do you know who to call to report a fire? Does that person know how to communicate your report to the fire department and to the school administration?
- Are the vent hoods in the kitchen equipped with a fire suppression system that meets UL 300 requirements? Does the staff have appropriate fire extinguishers available if needed to fight kitchen fires? Have they been trained to use them properly? Do these responders know the difference between a paper fire, electrical fire, and a grease or cooking oil fire?
- How long does it take for the fire department to arrive? Where is your evacuation point? Should the whole building be evacuated? If the evacuation point is close to the cafeteria, do you have an alternate evacuation point?
Training is Essential
This is just the beginning of a list of many critical questions that need to be considered when preparing for an emergency. During a fire is not the time to establish answers to these questions. Your district’s emergency operations plan should have a section on fires that has the answers. These answers should be tested in combination with “what-if” tabletop exercises and regular fire drills for all students and staff well before an emergency presents itself.
Fire spreads faster than you think. Your response must be at least as fast and the best way to ensure a quick response is for everyone to know what to do in case of a fire.
Please contact your Loss Prevention Consultant (LPC) for help with fire safety training. Both your LPC and our Emergency Management Consultant Catherine Toohey can help with your emergency operations plan. Catherine can be contacted at 800.482.7276, ext. 2054, or you can e-mail her at:
