Fire Safety

Fire is one of the most likely emergencies to occur in a building. When a fire alarm is activated, personnel must evacuate the area. Do not wait for further instructions or an announcement on the public address system. Only in surgical suites where patients may be sedated have personnel been instructed to follow alternate procedures. 

Evacuation

RACE is an acronym you can remember during a fire emergency:

• Rescue/remove anyone in immediate danger.
• Activate the manual fire alarm.
• Confine the fire (close the door).
• Extinguish small controllable fires/or evacuate. 

When evacuating buildings, do not use the elevator. Use the stairs. Floor plans illustrating the location of stairwells and exit routes are posted in elevator lobbies. Fire alarm pull stations are conveniently located adjacent to stairwell entrances. If necessary, activate the fire alarm as you head towards the stairs. Meet for a head count at a pre-determined location at least 200 feet away from the building.

Do not re-enter the building until the fire department or police makes the all-clear announcement.

Building Emergency Action Plans

Building Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) provide employees with evacuation information and quick guide instructions for other emergencies. Supervisor responsibilities during building evacuations and emergencies are identified in the campus Emergency Action Plan procedure. Access the emergency action plan for your building below:

• 910 Madison Avenue
• 920 Madison Avenue
• College of Pharmacy Building
• Doctor's Office Building (66 Pauline)
• Dunn Delta Dental - College of Dentistry
• Hyman Building
• Johnson Building
• Lamar Alexander Building
• Link Building
• Plough Center GMP Facility
• Physical Plant
• Wittenborg Building

Figures showing assembly points where individuals should congregate following a building evacuation are provided below:

• 910 Madison Avenue
• 920 Madison Avenue
• 930 Madison Avenue
• Coleman Building (956 Court Avenue)
• College of Pharmacy (881 Madison Avenue)
• Cancer Research Building (CRB) and Translational Sciences Research Building
• Crowe Building (874 Union Avenue)
• Doctors Building (66 N. Pauline Street)
• Dunn Dental Building - College of Dentistry (875 Union Avenue)
• Johnson-Link-Wittenborg (Monroe Avenue)
• Lamar Alexander (877 Madison Avenue)
• Mooney (875 Monroe Avenue)
• Physical Plant (201 East Street)
• Student Alumni Center (800 Madison Avenue)
• Van Vleet Cancer Research (3 N. Dunlap Street)

Persons with Disabilities

Individuals not able to use the stairs to evacuate in the event of a fire should move to a stairwell landing to wait for assistance from first responders. As others evacuate alert tell them to tell first responders where to locate you and that you need assistance. If necessary, use your cell phone to call for help. Building stairwells are Fire Rated Enclosures. They have been designed to keep critical building services functional during a fire for up to four hours. 

Many buildings on campus are equipped with evacuation slides that can be used to facilitate the evacuation of injured or disabled individuals. Contact the Fire Safety Officer for a list of locations and instructions for use. 

Fire Extinguisher Use

The university has approximately 2,000 portable fire extinguishers on campus. The vast majority are effective against all three major classes of fires. Never attempt to use a fire extinguisher in situations where your safety could be endangered.

PASS is a simple acronym you can remember to use an extinguisher:

• Pull and remove the pin located at the top of the extinguisher.
• Aim the discharge nozzle at the base of the fire.
• Squeeze the top handle of the extinguisher. The extinguishing agent will flow from the nozzle at this point.
• Sweep the discharge from side to side across the fire.

You can get training for fire extinguisher use by contacting Fire Safety Officer at 901.448.5619.

For additional information about fire drills, fire prevention or fire safety requirements contact the Fire Safety Officer at 901.448.5619. The Fire Safety Officer reports through the department of Facilities and can also be reached by contacting Facilities Administration at 901.448.5661.