Introduction to Being a Floor Warden Welcome

Introduction to Being a Floor Warden

Welcome! n Thank you for coming today, and for your willingness to participate in our Floor Warden program. n We rely on our Floor Wardens to help us in assuring the safety of all of our tenants and visitors, so your role is important – and we appreciate your help!

New Floor Warden E-Mail List Procedures n To subscribe to the e-mail list for Floor Wardens for your building, you must send an e-mail to one of the following addresses: Riffe. Floor. Wardens@gmail. com Rhodes: Rhodes. Floor. Wardens@gmail. com

New Floor Warden E-Mail List Procedures n Please send an e-mail to the address corresponding to the building you work in, stating your name, floor, agency, and contact number, as soon as possible. n We will add you to the list, and update all contact information for all Floor Wardens. n The list is set up so that, if a time comes when you are no longer a Floor Warden, you can easily unsubscribe for yourself.

New Floor Warden E-Mail List Procedures n If you do not subscribe, you will not be on the floor warden e-mail list. n Please take a few minutes to participate in subscribing to this new list – it will make the process easier for everyone involved.

New Floor Warden E-Mail List Procedures n If you have any further questions about the e-mail lists, please e-mail Riffe. Floor. Wardens@gmail. com or Rhodes. Floor. Wardens@gmail. com, or call Matthew Arnold at 995 -5054.

Building Evacuation Information & Procedures n We will now move on to what happens in the case of a building evacuation.

Building facts n On any given day, the Rhodes Tower holds around 3, 300 tenants and anywhere from 100 -300 visitors. n There are two stairwells used for evacuations: – Stairwell A (Northwest), which exits on the ground floor out on Lynn Alley. – Stairwell B (East), which exits in the front of the building on Broad Street.

Causes for evacuation n Bomb threats/suspicious packages. n Anything triggering a heat sensor or smoke detector. n Notification: The floors concerned will be informed via the automatic alarm system over the loudspeaker.

Method of evacuation n We use the 3 -floor method: – First evacuate the concerned floor, then the floors immediately above and below the concerned floor. If there is a fire, as it spreads, the alarms will automatically spread, as well, to all floors involved. n All stairwell doors will automatically unlock when the alarms are triggered. n Security and the fire department will determine what floors should be evacuated. n – Sometimes it is safer to shelter and stay where you are than to evacuate.

Floor Warden responsibilities n Please don’t panic or run, and encourage others to stay calm. n Please put on the reflective vest that we have provided to you, so that you can be easily identified. n Direct the People Needing Assistance (PNAs) from your floor to the freight elevators. n Start closing doors to contain the fire or keep it from coming onto your floor.

Floor Warden responsibilities n Please do not call Control about the alarm, unless you have information to offer regarding the cause. Go along with what the automated system says, because until security is able to determine exactly what is going on, that is all they will be able to tell you. n Please treat each alarm as if it were genuine, unless specifically notified otherwise by security.

Floor Warden responsibilities n Clear the floor of tenants, and try to be the last person off the floor. n Go down the stairwell with the last of the people from your floor. Please try to calm people and keep them moving along at an orderly pace. Stay to the right-hand side of the stairwell. n Depending on the scope of the evacuation, there may be other people joining you in the stairwells.

Floor Warden responsibilities Please ensure that the stairwell door is closed behind you. These doors are fire protected, and will help contain the fire. The burn time on each door is 1½-2 hours, depending on the heat. n When the alarms in the stairwells go off, pressurization fans start to run. These help keep the stairwells free of smoke, but make the stairwell doors hard to open. n Elevators should not be used unless given express permission by security. n

Floor Warden responsibilities n Go immediately to your assigned evacuation location with the rest of your floor, and do not leave your location or return to the building until given the clear by the Evacuation Hotline, which is 752 EVAC (3822).

Security and O. S. P. ’s roles n n Security will respond to the floors involved, and evaluate the situation. Another officer will go up on the freight elevator with the PNA list to the highest floor involved, and start to bring people down to ground level. O. S. P will assist in blocking off necessary street traffic, and helping people who are exiting out of the stairwells. As floors are cleared, security and O. S. P. will try to check each of them.

Questions I’ve received n Should we take roll call/attendance in the event of an evacuation? n What if I’m not on my floor at the time an alarm sounds? n Are the freight elevators really the best way to get the PNAs out of the building? n Why is our evacuation point 300 feet away?

THANK YOU! n Thank you for attending this meeting. n Thank you also for your willingness to participate in our Floor Warden program. We know that it’s a responsibility, and we don’t want you to think it goes unnoticed – THANKS!