Tips to Plan & Implement a Church Fire Drill

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” (Acts 20:28)

As I’m sure you’ve heard me say many times, I love the local church body.  Because of this my goal has always been to provide you with the tools to build, train, and maintain a safety and security team in your church.  This is accomplished through choosing appropriate past experiences and applying any lessons learned, consulting experts in the field, and researching nationally recognized publications to make sure all information provided is useful and up to date. 

In elementary school I remember practicing fire drills at least every couple months.  As I grew older, due to some tragic events in our community and at least once in my parent’s home, I came to understand the importance of those years of fire drills.  Fire drills save lives!

That is why churches should also have them.  Fire drills help people know what to do in case of a fire emergency.  When your people have practiced these drills many times when there was no emergency, then they are less likely to panic when the real thing happens.  They will know where to find the nearest exits and will accomplish evacuation calmly and quickly.

Churches have special challenges such as people with disabilities or an unusually large number of the elderly.  Some older churches do not have up to date fire safety alarms or building wide public address systems.  Holding fire drills allows churches to assess their fire safety situation and consider the best way to evacuate everyone safely and as quickly as possible.

It’s important to work closely with church leaders.  You need their support as you begin to plan and set dates for the fire drills.  The ideal time would be immediately after the worship service when there is still a large number of people in the building.  In the couple of weeks leading up to the fire drill begin announcing your plans each Sunday and lay out what is expected of the congregation.  They need to understand why these drills are necessary and what their part is in the drill.  This would include a review of where all the exits are in the building, the destination of the evacuees, and where they are to be united with their family members.  If possible, pass out floor plans with all exits marked and typed out fire drill instructions. 

If your church does have a safety or security team, have them practice in advance so they will know what to do.  Their job includes guiding members to the exits, assisting the elderly and handicap, and helping evacuate the children from the nursery and children’s areas.  Also, make sure everyone is out of offices, bathrooms, and classrooms.  Occasionally, you may need non-safety team members to help with the evacuation. 

Previous to holding the fire drill make sure the authorities have been notified of the date and time of the drill, and that the drill is actually just a “drill.”  Sometimes you might want to have the local fire department help with the planning and carrying out of the drill.  They probably will have information and resources that will hope make the drill be a success.  They might even be willing to bring over a fire truck and some men to participate for the children to meet. 

Prior to holding the fire drill work out some signals for communication and how the drill will be announced.  Once the drill is in progress begin directing the congregation to the nearest exits.  Encourage people to move quickly, without running, and calmly.  People should be guided to the pre-designated assembly area that is well-away from the building, and that leaves streets accessible to the building.  If you have an exceptionally large building you may want to have a unification area designated for family members who may be in other parts of the building.  Some members may be elderly or handicapped who cannot move quickly and will likely need special assistance by trained members. 

Depending on the size of the building, assign several two-man teams the task of searching the building for stragglers.  These teams should check all bathrooms, offices, classrooms, remote areas of the building (basement area, pastor’s study, etc.) to be certain that everyone has been evacuated safely.  Meanwhile, verify that everyone in the Assembly area and Unification area have been accounted for by all family members. 

If your building has a fire alarm system, be sure to reset the alarm once the drills have been successfully completed.  Do one last test of the alarm system to confirm it is operational.  Finally, alert the local authorities that the drill is over so they know that any subsequent fire alarm will be real. 

As soon as possible after the fire drill, get the safety or security team together for a debriefing. 

Consider these questions:

1) How long did it take to evacuate the building?  

2) Are you satisfied with the results, or could it have been done better?

3) Identify what worked well.

4) Discuss any areas or aspects of the fire drill that did not go according to the plan.

5) Can anyone suggest any strategies for improvement?

Before the next fire drill make sure the church has an updated, Comprehensive Fire Drill Plan that includes fire safety inspections, fire extinguisher and safety equipment testing, fire drills for the children and volunteers in the children’s area several times a year, and fire safety training for church members and staff.  It should include church-wide fire drills, like the one described here, on a regular basis. 

Like most churches, you probably have no idea how to do this, or even where to begin.  Whether you have any questions, or need help with fire safety, severe weather emergency planning, or simply getting your church security team up and running, you can contact me any day or time at the contact information found below.   

Be safe! 

Integrity Security Consulting

Russ Sharrock

405-762-2471 | integrityseccon@hotmail.com

 

I have developed and made available to anyone interested, for FREE, a series of Security & safety forms that can be printed for your use:

1) A Safety & Security Risk Assessment Form

2) Church Security Plan Template

3) Church Emergency Plan Template

4) A General Fire Safety Checklist

5) A Bomb Threat Checklist

6) A Bomb Threat Distance Chart:  Includes various types of explosive devises and to be referred to in an event of a bomb threat evacuation.  These are minimum distances to evacuate away from the area of explosion.

7) Facility Lockdown Checklist

8) Child Protection Covenant

These MS Word documents can be adapted as necessary to fit your church size and needs.  I will be adding new forms as time allows.

For a copy of any of these FREE forms, or if you have any questions, contact me and let me know what your needs are.