Creating a Fire Evacuation Plan for Your Team

Why a Written Fire Evacuation Plan Matters

Every small business in the UK has a legal duty to keep its people safe from fire. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, someone in your business is the "responsible person" — usually the owner, a director or a manager — and that person must carry out a fire risk assessment and put a plan in place for what happens if fire breaks out. Getting people out quickly is the whole point of that plan, and it needs to be written down rather than kept in someone's head.

Here's the encouraging part: a good plan isn't complicated. It answers three simple questions. How will people know there's a fire? Where do they go to get out? And how do you know everyone is accounted for? If you can answer those clearly, and your team knows the answers too, you're most of the way there.

Start With the Risks in Your Own Premises

Before you write anything, walk your building with fresh eyes. Your plan should reflect the reality of your site, not a generic template. Make some notes as you go round:

• Where a fire is most likely to start — kitchens, storage rooms, workshops, anywhere with electrical equipment, heaters or flammable stock.
• How people would get out — count the exits, check they open easily from the inside, and confirm they're never locked during working hours.
• Who might need extra help — anyone with a mobility issue, a hearing or sight impairment, or a temporary injury such as a broken ankle. Think about how they'd manage stairs and who would assist.
• Where people might be alone — a lone worker in a back office or warehouse needs a way to raise the alarm and be checked on.

If you share a building with other tenants, talk to them. A fire in their unit is your problem too, and a shared alarm and meeting point saves confusion.

Appointing Fire Marshals

Fire marshals are your eyes and ears. They check that escape routes are clear, guide people out, sweep rooms to make sure nobody is left behind, and report to the person in charge at the meeting point. As a rough guide, aim for at least one marshal per floor or per zone, covering every shift and every lunch break. If you have ten or more staff in one area, two marshals is a sensible minimum.

Always name a deputy. People take holiday, fall ill and leave, and a plan that only works when one person is in the building isn't a plan. Give marshals proper training — many local fire and rescue services run free or low-cost sessions, and there are plenty of reputable providers. Refresher training every year, or when someone's role changes, keeps skills sharp.

It helps to give each marshal a simple checklist: their zone, their sweep route, the nearest exit, and the meeting point. Keep a hi-vis vest and a torch somewhere obvious so they can be spotted quickly.

Mark Escape Routes Clearly

Signage is one of the cheapest safety improvements you can make, and it pays off when people are panicking. Use standard green and white running-man signs to mark exits and routes, and make sure they can be seen from the direction people will actually be travelling. A sign above a door is useless if it's only visible once you're already through it.

• Keep corridors, stairwells and doorways completely clear — no stacked boxes, no bikes, no deliveries left "just for now".
• Check emergency lighting works, especially on stairs and in windowless corridors. Test it monthly and record the result.
• Make sure fire doors close properly and aren't wedged open. If a door needs to be held open for daily use, fit a proper device that releases when the alarm sounds.
• Photoluminescent strips or tape on steps can help in smoky, poorly lit conditions.

Practise Evacuations Properly

A plan nobody has rehearsed is just paperwork. Run a full evacuation drill at least once a year — twice is better if you have higher-risk activities — and treat it seriously. Vary the day and time so it isn't always the same people on shift, and occasionally block a route to test that people know an alternative.

During the drill, watch for the things that always go wrong: doors that stick, people drifting towards the car park instead of the meeting point, and marshals unsure of their sweep. Time the evacuation from the moment the alarm sounds to everyone being accounted for. Most small premises should be able to clear in a couple of minutes; if yours takes much longer, find out why.

Debrief afterwards, thank people, and write down what you'll change. Then change it.

Meeting Points and Roll Call

Choose a meeting point that is far enough from the building to be out of danger but close enough to reach quickly — the far side of the car park, or a spot across the road away from the exits. Have a second, backup location in case the first is unusable. Tell everyone where it is, and put it on the signage and in your staff handbook.

At the meeting point, the responsible person or a nominated deputy should get a quick headcount. Keep a visitor sign-in book or a simple app-based system so you know who was in the building, including contractors, interviewees and delivery drivers. If someone is missing, tell the fire service immediately — never send staff back inside to search.

Finally, review your plan whenever something changes: new premises, a reshuffle, new equipment, a change in shift patterns. Give every new starter a short fire induction on day one, covering the alarm sound, the exits and the meeting point. Five minutes of their time now is worth a great deal later.