News and Updates

Fire Emergency or Alarm 

“Safe Area” for Persons with Disabilities:

Persons with a physical disability are in many cases limited in their ability to evacuate by means of stairwells. It is primarily for this type of disability that the following procedures apply.Ensure open and wide communications with the person with a disability and with others in the area as to needs, a safe area, evacuation expectations, procedures and support.

Procedure When a Fire Alarm Sounds 

Ground Level

If you can evacuate the building at ground level, a Building Emergency Team (BET) member or a volunteer should escort the person with a disability to a safe location away from the building.

Above or below the ground floor (Instructions)      

1.   Seek a safe area such as an office, dorm room or stairwell.

2.   When there is a fire alarm, if possible, phone Campus Police at 911 to inform them of your location, circumstance and intentions.

3.   Tell the communication officer that your fire alarm is sounding but you have a disability and cannot leave your floor area.  If you smell smoke, or are in immediate danger, immediately inform the Communications Operator, Campus Police.

4.    The BET has been instructed to ask and help you to identify the location where you will wait for evacuation. They are not trained to lift and carry you out of the building. Please ask someone to remain in the building with you until trained rescue workers arrive from the fire department. Make sure someone both from the evacuation team or a volunteer has noted your location, floor and the stairwell and, that this person will notify the authorities of your need for assistance.

5.   Provide the phone number and extension you are calling from.  It is IMPERATIVE that this number can receive return calls.  Note that PAY telephones generally cannot receive return calls.

6.   Campus Police have radio contact with officers at the scene and will provide you with updates on the situation via the phone number you provide.  In the event that your safety could be compromised, Firefighters will assist in your safe evacuation.  At any time, you can also call back for an update.

Note: London Fire Services and Campus Community Police will all respond to the scene within 2-3 minutes of a fire alarm.

Availability of Telephones
It is reasonable to assume that if a building is occupied and open for business, telephones will be available in offices, etc.  In cases, such as evening lectures where only the lecture theatre or classroom is open, you are encouraged to contact the Campus Community Police by calling 911. 

1.   Make sure the BET can easily locate you.  Please ask for help from your professors, classmates or coworkers to evacuate in case no member of the evacuation team is on your floor.

2.    It is part of the professor’s responsibilities to assist with the emergency evacuation of his/her class.

Whenever possible, the procedures to be taken for the evacuation of a person with a disability must be discussed fully with the individual.   Co-workers also are to be informed so there is a mutual understanding of the impairment, and the procedures to initiate during an evacuation. The person(s) with the disability is usually the best judge of his/her abilities and can provide valuable assistance in developing an evacuation plan. Persons having a sensory impairment (blindness, deafness, etc.) or a minor physical impairment can, with the assistance of their Building Emergency Team members, usually evacuate as quickly and safely as other building occupants. If this is the case, they may be permitted to carry out regular evacuation procedures. However, these persons may require at least one BET member to alert them of the alarm, if necessary, and to assist them to evacuate. A person with a physical disability, for Fire Safety purposes, is someone that with or without aid is unable to descend a stairs at a rate of speed consistent with the normal flow of other building occupants, and doing so without aid could result in physical harm.

In building fire evacuation exercises, the BET members and persons with a disability are to carry out the actions they would normally carry out in an emergency (i.e., respond to the pre-arranged location on the floor area). In a drill situation, it is not necessary for persons with a disability to evacuate the building completely. This action in fact could be potentially dangerous for these persons and their BET members, as well as for the other occupants of the building. Upon initiation of a fire alarm, the BET members will respond with the persons with a disability to a pre-arranged location on the floor area, but not blocking evacuation traffic. The Building Emergency Coordinator will ensure that the floor is cleared as per normal evacuation procedures. In all situations, the BET members will ensure that a person is assigned to report to the BET Coordinator or Emergency Personnel immediately upon complete evacuation of a floor.  Also report the number of persons with a disability and BET members evacuating at a slower rate and the stairwell they are utilizing, so that assistance may be provided, if available.If for any reason the evacuation of a person(s) with a disability must be suspended, and persons take refuge on a floor area other than their own, the BET members must make every effort to alert the BET Coordinator or other Emergency Personnel of their location. This can be done by advising other evacuees as they proceed down the stairs by keeping a watch for would-be rescuers, searchers or fire fighters proceeding up the stairs, by using the telephone or by waving or shouting from a window to alert bystanders and/or arriving emergency personnel.BET members or a designated person must immediately advise the BET Coordinator or Emergency Personnel when the evacuation of persons with a physical disability has been completed.It should be noted that telephone communications remain intact in many fire situations and an attempt should always be made to utilize this means of communication to either contact Campus Community Police Service or the Fire Department.Occupants who require assistance in evacuating during an alarm are responsible for:

  • Advising their BET Coordinator or Western Fire Safety so that a pre-plan can be established; Assisting the BET Coordinator or Western Fire Safety in appointing BET members; Telling their BET members how much help they may need; and

  • Practicing the evacuation procedures.

Please send any unanswered questions or concerns to firesaftey@uwo.ca

 

 

Change in Fire Alarm Re-Entry Procedures

Exception - Traditional Residences

Note - Building Emergency Team (BET) Volunteers

August 19, 2009 – Commencing immediately, following a fire alarm, building occupants are permitted to re-enter when advised to do so by a BET volunteer, when the bells/ horns and strobes have ceased.   BET volunteers, wearing a blue vest, are advised to listen for the bells/ horns to stop and then give the all-clear, rather than wait for a runner to communicate this.

On behalf of the university, Fire Safety would like to thank all BET and BEC volunteers for your efforts in maintaining safety and to building occupants for your cooperation and prompt evacuation during a building emergency.

This new initiative will apply to all buildings except our traditional residences. Your continued support is appreciated.  Please feel free to leave your comments at firesafety@uwo.ca .

 

 

Question – If someone in our facility has a medical emergency and a 911 call is made from a cell phone, what happens?

Answer – A 911 call from a cell phone goes to the London Police emergency communications centre.   They will redirect the call to EMS for an ambulance and also back to Campus Police to advise us of the situation.   EMS will advise Campus Police Communications they have sent an ambulance.  Campus Police will respond to the source of the emergency.   (A 911 call from a campus phone goes directly to Campus Police)

 

Question – How do we address mobility issues and evacuation?

Answer – There needs to be broad communications, to ensure a high level of awareness, identifying persons with mobility issues requiring assistance.    It is important that everyone feels supported in building evacuations

 

Question – What is the management strategy, during an evacuation, for persons with mobility problems?

Answer – In traditional residences persons with permanent disabilities are on a list and during fire alarms these persons are contacted by telephone and updated on the situation.  In other
circumstances areas of refuge are offices or suites and stairwells or landings.  Persons can choose to remain in an office or suite and call Campus 911 and apprise the Communications Operator of their situation or they can wait in a stairwell or landing area but they should ensure that someone can report their location to the responding emergency personnel. Building emergency team members are encouraged to stay with the impaired person(s), but that is not always possible

 

Hand Sanitizers Located Throughout Campus

As you may have noticed, new Purell Hand Sanitizer Stations have, and are, being installed across campus in various locations.  These stations contain Purell hand sanitizer that will kill 99.99% of germs and thus prevent the spread of illness.

You may recall some stories of last year; the Norwalk outbreak at Mount Allison and St. Francis Xavier Universities or the Gastrointestinal Virus Outbreak at Guelph University. Here at Western, the Emergency Response Committee and Western Health Services are being proactive by providing and encouraging the use of the hand sanitizers as well as general hygiene procedures to hopefully prevent a similar problem from occurring here at the University. Various posters promoting proper hygiene and washing hands can also be seen across campus.

Another hot topic of discussion is the H5N1 “Bird Flu” strain. Experts encourage flu shots for everyone along with proper hygiene to prevent the flu.

For more information please contact Western Health Services or the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

Prepared At Western

Fire Safety and Emergency Management Staff are constantly on the forefront of Emergency Planning. Our close working realtionships with Western Community Partners as well as outside Emergency Response Agencies have allowed us to create a dynamic Disaster Plan which is utilized to guide an Emergency Response of any magnitude. Education, training and practical exercises have been conducted with identified staff and infrastructure redundancies have been implemented. This is all in an effort to ensure communications, tactics and all other aspects of emergency planning and response are ready and available. Western is prepared to resolve any situation efficiently and effectively.  

To ensure the entire Western Community is as prepared as we can be, we have created a forum where we can present this information to everyone utilizing Western's WebCT program.

To access Emergency Plans and other additional Emergency Preparedness information please log into WebCT using your standard email account and click the Emergency Preparedness Course in your course list.

 

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