To prepare students and personnel to promptly and safely respond to fires or other disasters, the superintendent or designee will be responsible for developing an emergency plan that addresses the evacuation of all occupants from each of the district’s school buildings.
DISTRICT EMERGENCY PLAN
The district’s emergency plan will include the following:
· Procedures for reporting emergencies to the proper responding agencies.
· Procedures for notifying, relocating, or evacuating students, personnel, and other occupants of the building(s).
· Procedures for assisting persons who are unable to use the general means of egress unassisted.
· Procedures for accounting for building occupants after the evacuation has been completed.
· Identification and assignment of personnel and their duties during an emergency, including those responsible for rescue or providing emergency medical aid.
· Floor plans including the locations of portable fire extinguishers, other fire extinguishing equipment, manual fire alarm pull stations, and fire alarm control panels; the primary and secondary evacuation routes for each classroom and other areas of occupancy; and locations of interior refuge.
· Site maps identifying the designated exterior assembly area for each evacuation route.
The district’s emergency evacuation plan will be submitted to the local fire department for review and input. The superintendent or designee will review and update the emergency plan annually and when structural or occupancy modifications occur.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND RESPONSE PROCEDURES
Employees will receive training in fire emergency and evacuation plan procedures and their duties as part of new employee orientation and at least annually thereafter. Records will be kept and made available to the fire code official upon request. Training will address the following:
· Employees will be apprised of the fire hazards of the materials and processes to which they are exposed. Each employee shall be instructed in the proper procedures for preventing fires in the conduct of their assigned duties.
· Employees will be familiarized with their assigned duties in the event of an alarm or emergency.
· Identification of evacuation routes, refuge areas (interior as well as exterior), and exterior assembly areas.
· Procedures for leading groups of students or assisting individual students to evacuate.
· The locations and proper use of portable fire extinguishers or other manual fire-fighting equipment and the protective clothing or equipment required for its safe and proper use.
· Emergency action(s) that may be required for potential emergency conditions.
· Where a facility has a lockdown plan, employees shall be trained on their assigned duties and procedures in the event of an emergency lockdown.
INSPECTION
Each school principal or designee has the general responsibility to daily inspect exit facilities to ensure that stairways, doors, and other exits are in proper working condition. Any condition likely to interfere with the safe egress should be corrected immediately. If not possible, then the condition should be reported at once to the proper authority. Particular attention should be given to:
· Keeping all doors unlocked for egress during school hours or when the building is occupied.
· Keeping doors that protect evacuation paths (e.g., doors on stairway enclosures) closed. Under no circumstances are they to be blocked open.
· Keeping outside stairs and fire escape stairs free from all obstructions and clear of snow and ice.
· Keeping outside exit doors free from any materials that would interfere with rapid escape from the building(s).
EMERGENCY EVACUATION/FIRE DRILLS
Each school building’s principal or designee will implement, schedule, and carry out evacuation/fire drills in compliance with the emergency plan.
Evacuation/fire drills are to be conducted at least once each month when school is in session and are to include the complete evacuation of all persons (all students, personnel, and visitors) from the building(s), or portions of the building(s) used for educational purposes. Identified special needs of students and personnel will be considered, analyzed, and incorporated into the school’s emergency plan. The drills must include suitable procedures to ensure that all people subject to the drill are able to participate. The drills may be postponed during episodes of severe weather.
Fire drills are to be conducted in a manner that requires that the procedures set forth in the emergency plan are followed. During the fire drill, the orderly evacuation of the building(s) is to be emphasized over the speed of the evacuation. Fire drills are to include a review of the emergency plan and the manner in which personnel completed their assigned duties.
Fire drills are to be conducted at varying times and simulate the varying conditions that might be encountered in a real fire emergency.
RECORDS
The results of the evacuation drills will be recorded and evaluated for continued improvement. The superintendent or designee will periodically provide the board of trustees with an evacuation/fire drill report.
Records including the time and date of each fire drill, the person conducting the drill, the time required to evacuate the building(s), and any other information thought to be pertinent to the drill are to be maintained on school premises. These records are to be made available to the fire department for review.
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LEGAL REFERENCE:
Idaho Code Sections
33-512 – Governance of Schools
39-8001 et seq. – Idaho Uniform School Building Safety Act
IDAPA
08.02.03.160 – Safe Environment and Discipline
24.39.60 – Rules Governing Uniform School Building Safety
ADOPTED: May 18, 2021
AMENDED: