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General regulations on evacuation from buildingsNeed help related to this topic?
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In production halls and warehouses, fire is the main but not the only danger. Employees are also exposed to gas leaks, industrial accidents, installation failures (e.g., electrical, ventilation), building disasters (e.g., roof collapse) and natural hazards (e.g., flooding), among others. To ensure the safety of employees, the owner of the plant must bring the building into compliance with fire regulations, including, in particular, the provision of adequate escape routes.
In accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, any facility where people are present should allow immediate and safe evacuation from the place of danger. To this end, it is necessary to:
Provisions on evacuation are also included in the Ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location. According to §236 (Chapter 4. Evacuation routes), each room intended for human habitation should allow safe egress from danger (outside the building or to an adjacent fire zone) either directly or through evacuation routes. The fire zone should make it possible to leave the building - directly or through another fire zone. In the case of buildings used by more than 50 people, the rooms along the escape routes should be closed with doors opening to the outside (this requirement does not apply to historic buildings).
According to the decree of the Minister of Infrastructure, the minimum width of passages, exits and evacuation routes should be adapted to the maximum number of users of the building. If the number of users is not determined from the purpose and development of the premises, then the floor area ratio is adopted, which for warehouses is 30m2/person. The width of evacuation passages is then calculated on the basis of this ratio, but the width must not be less than 0.6 m per 100 people (not less than 0.9 m). It is also necessary to take into account the minimum widths specified for escape doors (0.9 m), escape corridors (1.4 m) and other elements for evacuation. In terms of height, escape routes must not be lower than 2.2 m. However, it is allowed to be lowered to 2 m for a length not exceeding 1.5 m for every 10 m of corridor.
To ensure that evacuation from a production hall or warehouse runs smoothly, it is necessary to take care of the appropriate length of corridors. According to technical conditions, the length of escape routes must not exceed:
The above-mentioned lengths may be increased by 25% if the room is more than 5 meters high. Evacuation routes can also be extended by half if the building is equipped with a self-extinguishing system and/or smoke detectors-activated smoke extraction devices.
When designing evacuation routes in a production facility or warehouse, §238 of the Minister of Infrastructure's regulation must also be taken into account. According to this provision, certain premises must be equipped with at least two emergency exits located at a distance of at least 5 meters from each other. The total width of emergency exits should be adapted to the number of people who can be in the room at the same time (not less than 0.6 meters per 100 people). Evacuation routes in ZL fire zones should be divided into maximum 50-meter sections separated by doors or devices that limit the spread of smoke.
Evacuation in a warehouse or manufacturing plant must not be impeded by obstacles, so there must be no landings with steps or staircases with steps on escape routes (unless there is another escape route). In order to improve the evacuation of people from upper floors in PM fire zones, evacuation ladders may be used if the number of people on that floor does not exceed 50, or 15 in the case of buildings at risk of explosion. Ladders must be easily accessible and must not be positioned opposite windows or skylights.
Evacuation from a production hall or warehouse can take place under very dramatic circumstances (smoke, explosion risk, rapidly spreading fire), in which panic is not difficult. Therefore, the building must not lack signs and symbols that will make it easier for employees to find their way out and facilitate the rescue operation. The rules for the use of escape route markings are defined by the Polish Standards PN-EN ISO 7010:2012 and PN-92-N-01256-02. According to the decree of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, marking is required, among other things:
If there is an imminent threat to health and life, you need to act immediately. Therefore, every employee must know how an efficient evacuation in a warehouse or production hall should be carried out. For this purpose, a fire safety instruction should be developed and implemented. According to the decree of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, such a document is mandatory for, among others, warehouses and production facilities, unless the building does not meet the criteria indicated in the decree. The instruction should specify, among other things, the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire and organizational issues related to evacuation, along with the means of carrying it out. The instruction should also include plans of the facility, along with signs related to the smooth exit from the place of danger.
The fire safety instruction should be known to every employee, and in addition, it should be placed in a visible place, accessible to members of rescue crews. The content of the document should be updated at least every two years, as well as when changes are made to the building that may affect the fire hazard or the method of evacuation. A minimum of every two years, practical evacuation drills should also be conducted from the entire building, with this requirement applying to facilities with more than 50 occupants at a time.