Evacuation Procedures

FUS Building Evacuation Procedures

Although our FUS facility has been thoughtfully constructed of not-very-flammable building materials, some level of risk of fire inevitably remains. In addition to fire, there are other scenarios that could make it imperative for us to evacuate the building quickly, even on a Sunday morning. Recognizing that a crowded, three-level facility could be difficult to clear, and that confusion and panic would make matters worse, we have periodic practice fire drills. These drills usually take place on a Sunday in the fall or spring, when we hope the weather will not be oppressive while we are all outside for a few moments.

Please read the following instructions, and imagine for a moment how they will apply to your personal situation, so that you will be able to participate in the drill effectively. Our goal is to get everyone, especially children, out of the building in an orderly way, so that all will be safe, and can be accounted for. Keep in mind that EVERY FLOOR OF THE BUILDING (except the balcony) HAS AN EXIT. It is never necessary to enter a stairwell to leave the building, unless you are in the balcony. Only Greeters, who are assigned to help the nursery attendants, and students in the very back rooms of the upper floor, should be using the stairwells during an evacuation.

Most people on the upper floor, including those in the Upper Assembly Hall, offices, library, and classrooms, should exit toward the Mount Curve entrance. Anyone in the first six rows of pews should leave through the back door by the south hallway near the organ; this will help reduce the number of people needing to get through the main doors. Those in the balcony should come down to the main hallway, and exit through the main front doors. Adults should move away from the building and cross the street to the park, in order to be out of the way of emergency vehicles and equipment. Children will stay with their teachers and their class, and will cross to the park, where they will remain together and the teacher will take attendance to be assured that all children from that class have exited the building. USHERS have special responsibility for helping anyone with mobility constraints to be able to exit the building safely.

Students in rooms 208 and 209 (the High School group and the 5^th and 6^th grade) should proceed with their teachers down the back stairs to the Groveland entrance, exit the building, and gather on the sidewalk. They will remain together and the teacher will take attendance to be assured that all children from those classes have exited the building. 

Everyone on the middle floor, in the Lower Assembly Hall, kitchen, bookstore, or classrooms, should exit through the glass patio doors in the Lower Assembly Hall. Anyone in the Chalice room could exit through the outside doors in the Chalice room itself. Do not ever try to use the elevator during a fire or evacuation emergency. Children in second floor classrooms will stay with their teachers and their class, exit through the patio doors in the Lower Assembly Hall, and move down the back hill toward the sidewalk by the Groveland entrance. They will remain together and the teacher will take attendance to be assured that all children from that class have exited the building. 

GREETERS should proceed immediately to the lower floor Channing room, where they will help carry babies from the nursery to the Groveland doors and out to the sidewalk near the fenced playground area. Greeters and students with their teachers should be the ONLY people in the stairwells, and they should always be going DOWN. Everyone on the lower level, including the occupants of the nursery, should exit through the lower level Groveland doors. Children will be taken to the fenced playground area, and remain there. Their teachers will take attendance to be assured that all have exited the building.

It is important that parents NOT try to reach their children within the building, which could dangerously impede the orderly exit of classrooms. Parents of nursery and preschoolers should re-unite with their children by walking around the block from Mount Curve to the Groveland entrance, and finding the children in or near the fenced playground area. For practice events, all children will remain with their teachers and return to their classrooms when the drill is over. In a real emergency, we ask parents to collect babies and toddlers first, and to make sure that teachers know they have safely taken charge of their children before they leave the scene.

Our previous experience has been that we were able to evacuate the building quickly and in a very orderly way; the representatives of the fire department were quite impressed with our thoughtful planning and spirit of cooperation. Although it is not an annual event, we schedule an opportunity to practice this process every few years, so that we have an opportunity to correct any mistakes or oversights before they have tragic consequences.

We don’t expect the gods to look down and suspend the natural laws governing fire and other hazards in our building, just because we are so special.  Instead, we expect to use the tools of human reason, planning, and experience to assure us that we can cope with whatever contingencies arise. A little inconvenient practice now might save us from lasting heartache someday; we ask that everyone participate cheerfully, follow instructions, and make this event an opportunity for learning and building community.