An emergency assembly area, also referred to as an evacuation assembly area, is a designated spot where people are supposed to gather in the event of an emergency. This could apply to any type of emergency situation, from a fire to a natural disaster, or even something like a terrorist attack. However, no matter what the cause, the main goal of emergency assembly areas remains the same: to keep people safe.
In this blog post, we will discuss emergency assembly areas and provide some helpful tips on how to choose one for your building. Let’s get started!
As touched upon above, an emergency assembly area is a designated meeting place for people to go to in the event of an evacuation. However, it’s important to note that this isn’t intended to be the final safety destination. Instead, an emergency assembly area acts as more of a midpoint between the emergency and safety.
You may be wondering, why not just head all the way to safety? After all, it’s an emergency! While that may be true, the main purpose of this area is to help keep people safe and accounted for during an evacuation. Meeting up and checking in with everyone at a midpoint provides a good opportunity to conduct a head count and make sure there’s no one left at the emergency site.
Now that we know a bit more about emergency assembly areas, let’s discuss how to go about choosing one. There are several factors you’ll need to take into consideration when making your selection. The following are a few of the most important things to keep in mind.
One of the first things you’ll want to consider is the size of your emergency assembly area. Of course, you’ll ideally want a large enough area to accommodate everyone in your building. However, depending on your location, this isn’t always possible. If you don’t have enough space to fit everyone, try to make the best of it by choosing an area that’s large enough to at least accommodate the majority of your employees.
The location of your emergency assembly area is also important. When choosing a spot, you’ll first want to make sure it’s far enough away from the evacuation site. This is why emergency assembly areas are often outside, as it helps to ensure that everyone remains at a safe distance from the potential danger.
You’ll also want to make sure the area is easily accessible. If it’s too difficult to reach, people may have a hard time getting there, and every second counts in an emergency. Try to choose an area that’s easy enough for everyone to get to, but not so close that it puts them in danger.
Last but not least, you’ll want to consider the safety of the area. This is probably the most important factor to take into consideration when choosing an emergency assembly area. After all, the whole point is to keep people safe!
When assessing the safety of a potential location, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself. Is the area:
If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then the area is probably a good choice for an emergency assembly area.
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