fire and fire alarms

[jirp]

We had a kid pull a fire alarm Sunday before last.(no fire) It was just after the other ward finished and while ours was just starting the Sunday school hour. Lessons learned and questions.

1. First our member performance was terrible. 3 people left the building and 2 of those were leadership checking on things outside. Everyone else stayed inside asking if this was for real. We can NOT mess around like that and need to work on member training. Get out of the building then worry about whether it is real.

2. Second we didn't know where the key was to reset the fire alarm so between not being able to catch people because they were in church with cell phones off, not finding the key in suggested locations and so on it took nearly 2 hours get the only key found.(our building was remodeled about 5 years ago and it had never been needed) It was possible to silence the alarm from the panel without the key but the strobes in every room ran for the whole time. The key when someone who knew where it was, was found laying flat on top of the alarm control panel in the members janitorial closet. There is another alarm control panel in the main entry way. The key was needed both to reset the alarm pull and to reset the panel. So we are taking 2 actions here. Making 4 more copies of the key so both bishops have one and so one can be locked away in each clerks office. The second step is training all priesthood leaders where these keys are or will be.

3. In the nursery there was only one elderly nursery leader because the other 2 were out sick. A parent was supposed to be in to help her but was helping in primary first. So when the alarm went off we had 4 kids in panic and only one person to get them out of the building. So this needs to be on the check on list for the leadership.

4. Following the event I learned I was the only one between both bishoprics who knew where the one and only evacuation poster for the building was. It was clear in the back of the member janitorial closet taped to a duct. We are now discussing if a copy of that should be in each room and will talk to facilities on this one. The other thing discussed is if there was a fire getting everyone out of the parking lot. If we made it a rule to only turn right while getting on the highway we could speed up emptying the parking lot. There is a long wide emergency median that could act as a merge lane. Since the fire department would be coming from the other way it would also mean no obstructions for them. Both bishoprics are meeting this Wed and will discuss this as well as other issues pertaining to both wards.

So what is missing? I know it is church policy to NOT have emergency preparedness drills but does this apply to fire drills? If it was stake policy for each new bishopric to have a fire drill in the first year they were in then with 2 wards in the building we would be having a drill about every 3 to 5 years.

[russellhltn]

Sounds like a real learning experience.

Making 4 more copies of the key so both bishops have one and so one can be locked away in each clerks office.

I'd suggest stamping the keys so they'll know what they are for in a few years and a leadership change. I say "stamp" because a label is likely got get worn off.

one and only evacuation poster for the building was.

I'd check with FM. There might be a legal requirement as to where it must be posted.

I know it is church policy to NOT have emergency preparedness drills but does this apply to fire drills?

News to me. I couldn't find any reference to fire drills in either handbook for Facilities guidelines. But then again, I don't remember ever having a fire drill at church.

Both bishoprics are meeting this Wed and will discuss this as well as other issues pertaining to both wards.

Might be worth reviewing Handbook 1: 8.3.5 and the Facilities Management Guidelines for Meetinghouses and Other Church Property Page 5, Emergency Procedures.

[AndrewJAllen]

I am serving here in Kansas. About 8 months ago the fire alarm when off during a p-day at the church. We had the same story. No one had keys to the Alarm and The fire Fighter came and looked through the building. All of us missionaries left the building for a time until we were able to find out that there was not a fire. It ended up being a Smoke alarm in the Air Handling room. Lots of fun.