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A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building should evacuate in the event of a Structure fire or other emergency. In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest available exits, as if an emergency had actually occurred. Fire drill procedures may vary depending on the building type, such as hospitals or high rise buildings, where occupants may be relocated within the building as opposed to evacuating the building. Generally, the evacuation interval is measured to ensure that it is fast enough, and problems with the emergency system or evacuation procedures are identified so that they may be remedied.
In addition to fire drills, most buildings have their fire alarm systems checked on a regular basis to ensure that the system is working. Fire alarm tests are often done outside normal business hours so as to minimize disruption of building functions; in schools, they are often done when students and staff are not around or during the holidays where specialist fire alarm engineers test alarms in the building for repair if needed.
Before regular fire drills were instituted, an infamous fire broke out at the private Catholic school Our Lady of the Angels in 1958, in Chicago. Children on the second floor were trapped there, with neither teachers nor pupils knowing how to get out of the building safely. Many children jumped out of windows, and many were killed as they could not make their way to an exit. Although the school had passed a fire inspection only two months before, and had the number of fire exits and fire extinguishers required at the time, it lacked smoke detectors or adequate fire alarms, and was overcrowded.
The need for fire drills was recognized; monthly fire drills were implemented after the Our Lady of the Angels fire. It was found in a later study that education on fire also helped to prevent it: people started to learn more about what started fires, and what to do in the case of one starting. They were also aware of the hazards that allow a fire to start and grow. Within a year of the fire, many of the hazardous conditions such as found in Our Lady of the Angels had been eliminated in thousands of schools around the United States.
To prevent fires and deaths caused by fires, schools must have an evacuation plan in place, and make sure that all the proper fire alarms and warnings work. Teachers must take charge of the situation and act as leaders. Teachers should also consider the number of students that they have, and the need for enough space and time to get all of the students out quickly and safely. Teachers should also be alert to the causes of fires, in order to try and stop them from happening.
The following states require that schools conduct a fire drill once per month:
The following states require that schools conduct a specific number of drills over the course of the entire school year, or that a certain number of drills must be conducted within a certain period of time:
The following states specify a greater frequency of fire drills at the beginning of the school year:
Until regulations changed on November 1, 2010, New Jersey was unique in its requirement that schools conduct 2 fire drills per month.New Jersey Permanent Statutes, § 18A:41-1 Under later requirements, one of the 2 fire drills was replaced by a monthly security drill.
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