TE_CYS-06_Annex_E_MoreaboutthetopicFireDrills_v1_20150421.pdf

IMCOM G9 CYS SERVICES APR 15

What standard is this related to?

B.4.a.1 Fire evacuation drills are conducted monthly by a fire protection professional in facilities.

B.4.a.2 Personnel quickly and safely evacuate children.

B.4.a.4. Primary and secondary evacuation routes

(diagrams and written procedures) are posted and egress is clear in all activity areas which include procedures for responding to emergency or contingency situations.

The Facts:

Unintentional death by fire is among the top 8 causes of death for all children 0 – 14, and the rd leading cause of death for children 5 – 9.

According to the US Fire Administration, an estimated 325 fires occur in Child

Development Centers (CDC) annually.

In rank order, the places in a CDC where fires most typically start are: Kitchen, Bathrooms, Multi-purpose rooms, Heating/Electrical

Equipment Room, and Laundry Room.

83% of CDC fires are contained in the room of origin.

In Pennsylvania, a Preschool Teacher, heralded as a “Hero” in the press, was fired for putting out a fire with a fire extinguisher. Why? Her main job was to GET THE CHILDREN OUT

OF THE BUILDING, not to put out the fire.

Historic Fact: After leaving England, the

Titanic never had a lifeboat or a fire drill.

ABOVE ALL OTHERS, your primary job is to keep children safe. Although a fire in an Army

CDC is unlikely, it is not impossible. You must be fully prepared to evacuate and account for all children in the event of a fire or other emergency situation.

You have seen the fire evacuation plans prominently displayed in your CDC. Plans are required to be posted in each CDC classroom and common areas and outline not only the primary and secondary evacuation routes, but also the basic steps to take in successfully evacuating the children.

You probably glance at these plans on a frequent basis. But have you actually READ them? Have you reviewed the plan posted for each room or just the room where you work most frequently? What if you were in a hallway? Do you know where all the pull stations are? Would you respond appropriately in every emergency situation?

By now, you might be saying, “Of course I would! We practice fire drills every month. I know what to do and I do it!”

That’s great! Congratulations! But what if….

Your primary exit is blocked.

A new CYPA started in your room just today. Do they know what to do? Who is going to show them?

A new child in a wheel chair started last week.

Have you practiced evacuating that child?

That evacuation crib wheel is a little wobbly. Are you SURE it will hold up going down the ramp during a fire drill? When was the last time you checked it for safety?

You’ve practiced hearing the bell, having children line up quietly, calmly walking out of the building, and doing a

“face to name” count. Works every time! But what if there is a REAL fire? There is black smoke filling the room, the children are panicking, your primary exit is blocked, and at adult height, the temperature is 400 degrees. Have you thought of how you are going to get out of the building if you can’t see anything? NOW WHAT?

During a REAL FIRE is not the time to discover that your emergency fire evacuation plan has a few holes!

The following guidance, including real life situations in which fire drills have not gone well, is provided to ensure everyone knows what to do in an emergency. Learn to anticipate everything that could go wrong in order to prevent bad things from happening in the first place.

Conducting Fire Drills in Child Development Centers

ANNEX E

Learn from others’ mistakes. Look at it this way….Even if you think Army CDCs always conduct fire drills with 100% precision and accuracy, the fact that IMCOM G9 is preparing this “More about the Topic” page indicates otherwise. LUCKILY, in none of these cases has there been an actual fire, but in many fire drills, the result has been an unattended child or a child with a potential injury from the way they were evacuated. So what are the top reasons why some have not been highly successful?

a. Children being left in the building, primarily in bathrooms, hiding in activity areas, and in cribs. The child who gets scared and runs and hides because of the noise of the bell. The child who isn’t “finished” in the bathroom and elects to stay there. The sleeping baby who is left because the person who was supposed to “sweep the room” didn’t check every crib. WHO on your staff is responsible for checking these areas?

b. Forgetting the sign in sheet or not conducting a “face to name” count. This is the ONLY way you can be sure that all the children are accounted for! It’s not enough just to count. Just because you counted 10 doesn’t ensure they are the right 10 children! And don’t forget about the ones who are transitioning from one room to another – if two toddlers from Pre Tod/Tod are transitioning to the Preschool Module, they had better have been properly signed into the room!

c. Overzealous staff, who in an attempt to evacuate children quickly, do so at the potential peril of children – grabbing children up by the elbows to help them get in line faster; CYPAs carrying infants under each arm instead of using evacuation cribs. All well-intended, but could result in a potential “unintended consequence” of serious injury to a child.

d. People ignoring the fire alarm and entering or re-entering the building. Sometimes parents are aware that it’s just a drill and since they have to get to work, they enter the building and drop off their children anyway.

Sometimes, a CYPA has forgotten something and gone back inside. Sometimes it’s a child! What is your protocol for ensuring no one goes into the building?

e. It took longer than two minutes to get the children out of the building. When the drill is during activity time, getting children out in two minutes or less is no problem. But as much as we all hate it, programs need to practice getting children out under less than optimal conditions – like in the middle of nap time. Or when it’s cold. Yes, it’s hard, but you need to be prepared!

And don’t forget the rescue meds!

An Ounce of Prevention! Your room should always “be prepared” – not just on a fire drill day. Look around – although you can have things hanging from the ceiling, make sure nothing is over an evacuation route and

NEVER hung from the sprinkler heads. In fact, you may not have anything within 18 inches of them! Are all your exits clear? What is outside your infant/pretod rooms? Nice paved paths for evacuation cribs or piles of rocks and a step? Plan in advance for “who does what.” Who opens the door? Who leads the children? Who sweeps the room? Who accounts for the children? Where do you go? Who alerts the fire marshal (and what is the method to alert) that all children are safe and accounted for or that one or more are missing? What’s the PLAN? Directors-you should watch the drills sometimes instead of participating. That way you will be able to see the overall process and you know if everything is working!

Finally, let’s recap the steps of a Fire Drill:

1. After hearing the bell or PULLING the alarm, calmly get the children ready and lined up by the door. If you have infants or toddlers who are “incapable of self-preservation” (i.e., cannot walk or safely evacuate themselves) put them in the evacuation crib. Remember, you may not have time to put on hats and coats!

2. Get the attendance roster and the rescue medications bag. In some climates, you may even have special bags with blankets or rain tarps.

3. Determine the appropriate evacuation route.

4. Calmly lead the children out of the building to the designated area at least 50 feet from the building. If this involves a gate, make sure you have the key!

5. Have someone designated to sweep the room to ensure children have been evacuated.

6. When all are at the designated “safe” area, conduct a “face to name” count.

7. Have a method to alert the Fire Marshal that all children and staff are accounted for, or someone is missing.

8. Only return to the building when the “all clear” sound is made.

9. Afterward, review the fire drill to determine if anything needs to be corrected.