Fire Alarm Goes Off

Announcement is made by the office (clerical or admin) to tell students to hold in place while the situation is being assessed

Teachers and students hold in place within their given location versus evacuating the building

Appropriate staff (custodial, admin, clerical) checks the panel to determine the location of where the alarm was triggered

The alarm is silenced while the staff is investigating the situation (this promotes more effective communication when the alarm is silenced)

If the smoke detector were to sense smoke the alarm would reinitiate.  

Appropriate staff goes to the location to look to determine the cause (saw/smelled smoke, student pulled the alarm, etc.)

 At the same time as the step above, an administrative member (if possible) checks the camera system to determine the cause for the alarm that was initiated

Every few minutes, until a determination is made, continue to make announcements to maintain the hold in place versus evacuating

Determination is made to evacuate or not

Make the following announcement to communicate with staff/students:

1. “At this time we must evacuate the building.  Please stay with your class”

2. (Or) “At this time there is no threat of a fire.  The building has been all cleared and you may resume class.”