Personal emergency evacuation plan

Not everyone may be able to follow your emergency evacuation procedures. In these instances, you need to create an individual plan.

When is it needed?

If you have staff, pupils or residents who are either disabled or have a health concern that prevents them from following standard evacuation plans, you need to create a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. This document sets out the special arrangements you’ve made to ensure that the individual in question can get to a place of safety in good time. The intention is that they should take the lead in designing the evacuation plan with whatever assistance they need from managers.

What’s covered?

It starts with the basics, including the name of the individual and the parts of the building they use. Further sections include:

• how they will raise the alarm in the event of fire
• the way in which they’ll be alerted to an emergency (the alarm may need to be supplemented by beacons, pagers etc.)
• the names and contact details of those who will assist in an emergency
• the nature of the assistance to be provided, any special equipment and details of safe routes and refuges
• the procedure itself, step by step (including an alternative if needed, e.g. for out of hours)
• the format in which the PEEP and emergency information should be provided; and
• additional information such as potential hazards and the time taken to evacuate.

There’s space for each party to sign agreement to the PEEP including the representative of the responsible person and the assisted individual. This section also asks them to confirm various points such as that the escape routes have been seen by the individual and that practice sessions have been arranged.