When planning your evacuation routes to outside assembly areas and shelters, consider the following:

Exit Plan:

• Plan Exit routes so that exterior doors and other discharges lead directly onto streets, yards, or other areas giving safe access to open spaces.
• Review your Exit plan at a minimum, annual with your local fire officials and building inspector.
• Post copies of the Exit plan prominently around the building and consider having the plan provide instructions in multiple languages (e.g., French, Spanish, or braille).
• Be sure that during off-hour periods notification systems are active and capable of warning out of building staff and passers-by of danger at the facility.

Exit Route:

• Be sure that your facility has at least two exit routes and that they are remote from one another. Small facilities may have one exit route if it is adequate for all employees to escape safely.
• Exit routes must be clearly marked with signs pointing to the nearest EXIT in plain, legible letters. In some circumstances, consideration should be given to having exit routes market in either braille and or other languages (e.g., international airports). The placement of these signs are governed by local building codes. Be sure to check these regulations before finalizing on the design and placement of these exit instructions.
• Exit routes must point to Exit signs which must be clearly visible from all parts of the facility. This may require arranging for Exit Route signs to be illuminated. This illumination should not depend solely on power from the local utility as this might be disrupted before or during an emergency event.
• Exit routes must be unobstructed by material, chairs, tables, or equipment. Any intervening door must be unlocked. If the route passes corridors that lead to dead ends, these should be marked “Not an Exit.”
• Exit routes must be free of explosive, flammable or combustible materials that might impede progress. Route around and avoid such areas as much as possible.
• If the evacuation procedure calls for the shutdown of utilities, have the pathway to the utilities marked in both directions enabling to staff member to find the shutoff site and return to the Exit Route.
• In the event of a fire in a high-rise building, in line with best practice, the occupants of the fire floor and the floors directly above and below the outbreak should immediately be evacuated. Using the stairs as an Exit Route, people should move two or more floors below the floor where the fire is burning, and wait further instruction from safety officials.
• Consider marking external portions of the Exit route showing the way to the assembly area.
• If the Exit route leads to an internal shelter, be sure that the entrance way to the shelter is marked and can be opened by those arriving.
• The ERT with the assistance of a knowledgeable facility representative should verify that outside exit routes conform to relevant regulations concerning the presence of guiderails and ramps, especially when exit surfaces may become slippery under various conditions (e.g., rain storm).
• If the Exit route leads to an internal shelter, be sure that there is adequate lighting in the area to avoid injuries to those entering.
• Be sure that Exit routes are maintained and kept clear during construction periods.
• Be sure that Exit routes, Exit discharge areas, and internal shelters are large enough to accommodate all building occupants likely to follow that route away from their work area.
• Plan Exit routes so that they avoid high hazard areas such as rivers, ponds, or steep hillsides. Pay special attention to the needs of any staff or visitors who are senior citizens or have special needs.
• Check that the lighting is adequate for employees with normal vision to find their way out even during blackouts or nighttime evacuations.

Exit Doors:

• The emergency response team (ERT) should periodically, but not less than annually, conduct inspections of all exit doors. They should verify that all exit doors can be opened from the inside with nothing restricting their access to the outside.
• Check to verify the specification local regulations require of Exit doors. For example, must Exit or external doors have a fire resistance rating of at least one hour?
• Check to see if Exits from the facility must be protected by a self-closing fire doors that remains closed or automatically close in an emergency. This is common in many jurisdictions.
• Check that all Exit doors open out and away from the interior of the facility. This is a safety design consideration.
• Periodically, but not less than annually verify that all Exit door hardware is functioning and complies with best practice, and local fire codes.