HospitalityHotel fire alarm: how staff evacuate the guests
When the fire alarm sounds, hotel staff follow a written emergency action plan. This guide follows OSHA's rules on emergency action plans and fire extinguishers, the federal hotel fire safety law and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Free to startThe plan before any alarm
The emergency action plan covers reporting a fire, evacuation and exit route assignments, staff who stay for critical operations, accounting for everyone, rescue and medical duties, and who to contact. It is reviewed with each employee when hired, when duties change and when the plan changes.
When the alarm sounds
The alarm uses a distinctive signal, and designated, trained staff lead a safe and orderly evacuation. Only staff trained and designated for it use an extinguisher; everyone else leaves the fire area, and everyone is counted outside.
The building and the guests
The federal hotel fire safety guidelines call for a hard-wired smoke detector in each guest room and sprinklers above three stories, so staff check on their rounds that no detector is covered. Guests read the evacuation plan in their room, find the closest exits and keep their key near the bed. Practice the evacuation free with Blocky.
Official sources
The emergency action plan
29 CFR 1910.38 sets what the plan must cover, from reporting a fire to accounting for everyone, the alarm and the staff trained to lead the evacuation. 29 CFR 1910.39 adds the fire hazards each employee must know. Both are free to read.
Fire extinguishers
29 CFR 1910.157 keeps extinguishers mounted, charged and in place, checked every month, and requires training on hiring and every year for the staff who may use them.
The hotel fire safety law
15 U.S.C. 2225, from the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act, sets the federal guidelines: a hard-wired smoke detector in each guest room and automatic sprinklers in buildings taller than three stories.
What every guest should know
The U.S. Fire Administration's Hotel Fire Safety Pictographs show it in pictures, free to download: read the evacuation plan in your room, find the closest exits, count the doors, find the fire alarms and keep your key near the bed.
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by OSHA, FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, NFPA or any hotel brand or training provider. Agency, law and standard names are named only to describe the content.