A building may be partially or fully evacuated for any number of reasons including a fire, fire drill, power outage, severe weather, or bomb threat. The main purpose of an evacuation plan is to help ensure the safe and efficient evacuation of the people in an emergency situation. Each building must have a plan for both partial relocations and full evacuation.

Evacuation plans must adhere to federal and state laws and local code. In the absence of code, Property teams should work with local authorities to confirm that the evacuation plan is satisfactory and acceptable. Document the direction provided. Each building must assign Property team members specific roles and duties to ensure safe and timely evacuation of building occupants. Cross training should be provided to enable knowledge sharing among team members. Cross training is especially important if one or more team members are out of the building when an emergency occurs.

Also, it ensures a successful evacuation in a minimally staffed building. Fire life safety equipment and systems must be tested regularly to ensure proper functionality in an emergency. It is equally important that Property team members are thoroughly trained and regularly drilled on how to use the building’s fire life safety equipment and systems.

Tenant Emergency Response Teams and Training

In addition to property emergency response teams, tenant emergency response teams must be created for each tenant on each floor. The emergency response teams consist of Floor Wardens, Suite Monitors, Searchers, Special Assistants, Stairwell Monitors, Elevator Monitors, and Alternates.

It is each team member’s responsibility to be familiar with their evacuation plan, his/her responsibilities, the emergency exits, and the location and operation of any available fire alarm system equipment and fire extinguishers. All members of the tenant emergency response team will be asked to attend training sessions conducted by JLL.

Training is essential to the readiness of the emergency response team, and will be scheduled by the Property team. Cross training is recommended to enable knowledge sharing among team members. Some local fire codes require all tenant employees to receive fire and life safety training. In addition, tenants should conduct their own in-house training to train evacuees in accordance with their evacuation plan. Tenants may call JLL for assistance with presentations, and to review their evacuation plan. Keep a record of all tenant correspondence and tenant training participation.

• Remain calm and quiet so everyone can hear emergency evacuation instructions.
• Walk quickly; do not run or push.
• Remove shoes that will slow the evacuation, such as shoes with high heels or platforms (thick soles).
• Use handrails on the right of the stairwells to prevent trips and falls during the evacuation.
• Leave the left side of the stairwell open to allow room for firefighters coming up the stairs.
• Do not eat or drink during an evacuation. Spills can occur that can cause slip-and-fall hazards for people evacuating from the floors above. Hot drinks can also injure people if spilled directly on them.
• Assist slower-moving persons.
• All injured evacuees are to be treated at stairwell landings and await rescue from the fire department.
• Make sure all stairwell doors are closed after the last person evacuates the floor. This prevents the spread of fire and smoke.
• All evacuees must follow the direction of the JLL Person In Charge or fire department and either remain in the stairwell, remain on the floor relocated to, or continue moving. If you ultimately evacuate out of the building, walk toward the designated initial assembly area, as directed, and then move to your suite’s designated meeting location for instruction.

• Search for and evacuate occupants from all rooms and public areas on each floor, such as offices, restrooms, kitchens, reception areas, elevator lobbies, and conference rooms.
• If time permits, close each door after the room is searched and place a Post-it® note on the lower third of the door saying, “Searched.” This alerts the firefighters that the room has already been searched and gives them more time to fight the fire. It is recommended that searchers have the Post-it® notes preprinted on white paper with black bold lettering.

• Allow all individuals not requiring special assistance to evacuate the floor first, via the stairwell, before you move into the stairwell. Do not slow the evacuation because this may cause panic.
• Leave wheelchairs behind when evacuating into stairwells.
• Move into the stairwell, close the door behind you, and remain on the landing. If floors above are evacuating and the floor you are on is not affected by smoke or fire, move back onto the floor until the upper floors have evacuated so you don’t slow the evacuation.
• If conditions pose a threat and danger exists, and the fire department has not arrived, the tenant emergency response team may assist in evacuating the individual to a safe area.
• Report to the local authorities or JLL Person In Charge the name and locations of persons waiting for assistance to evacuate or relocate.

Evacuation/Fire Drills The Property team, often with the assistance of the fire department, conducts periodic emergency evacuation / relocation or floor and building evacuation drills to ensure that both tenants and the Property team have practiced the evacuation plan and are prepared to take action if a real emergency occurs. JLL’s evacuation drill standard includes following local codes or in the absence of code conducting a drill for each tenant on each floor at least once per year as defined by the local fire department official. Conducting drills helps to ensure that tenants and Property teams are properly trained and well versed in the event of an emergency. Building occupants are strongly encouraged to participate fully in drills, and in some jurisdictions participation is required by code. A written record of the drills must be kept in the building (or on-line) and readily available for inspection by the fire department. See the Fire and Life Safety Evacuation Drill Report and Fire Drill Tenant Compliance Report in Section 29, Forms.

Predetermined Initial Assembly Area for Full Building Evacuation

It is recommended that the Property team evaluate the surrounding areas of the building and choose an initial assembly area for building evacuees to meet in the event of a full building evacuation. The area should be far enough away from the building to prevent evacuees from getting backlogged and/or trapped in the stairwells. Also, choose a direction of travel that does not interfere with the emergency responders, emergency equipment, and/or emergency vehicles. It is recommended that you select an alternate initial assembly area in case the designated area is unavailable.

Tenant Designated Meeting Location

Tenants are responsible for designating a location for their own employees to meet if there is a full building evacuation. After the evacuation, the suite monitors take attendance to ensure that all suite occupants and visitors are accounted for, and then report missing individuals to local authorities. Remember, tenants must walk to the Predetermined Initial Assembly Area, and then proceed to the Tenant Designated Meeting Location.

This procedure ensures that the building population moves away from the building quickly and safely in a systematic, controlled manner. Neither tenant nor JLL emergency response team members should attempt to take attendance at stairwells nor building exits. Any action that blocks or otherwise slows the flow of people from the building could be dangerous. Tenant representatives may break off from the exit flow to notify authorities that an employee is waiting for assistance in a designated area.

Emergency Evacuation Purpose:

To provide guidelines for emergency response actions to minimize personal injury and property damage from emergencies.

Step 1 Security Officer (S/O), Customer Service Center (CSC) / Property Team Personnel (PTP), or On-Site Staff:

• Receives notification of an emergency.
• Asks if the caller is injured or in immediate danger. If in immediate danger, directs the caller to move to a safe location.
• Records pertinent information:
  • Name of caller
  • Type of emergency
  • Company name
  • Physical address and suite number
  • Telephone number
  • Number of injuries
  • Condition of area
  • Equipment or system involved
• Calls 911.
• Notifies the CSC / PTP and Security Officer or On-Site Staff. When broadcasting over an audible device, uses the “10-33” emergency code.
• CSC / PTP and Security Officer or On-Site Staff remains in contact with the PIC throughout the emergency.

• Notifies the Manager on Duty and Engineer on Duty of the emergency and provides details.
• Implements Section 3, Initial Emergency Notification Procedures.
• When directed by the JLL Person In Charge, notifies the tenants’ primary contacts of the emergency using Section 28, Call Lists and Section 27, Sample Telephone Scripts / Key Messages.
• Asks General Manager to report to the CSC/PTP to assist throughout the emergency.
• When directed by the JLL Person In Charge, notifies the General Manager.

Policy: Y ou must follow federal and state laws and local code, and consider physical and operational characteristics of the property itself. In the absence of code, the Property team should work with the local authorities in advance of an emergency and confirm the actions that you are to take in this type of an emergency. Document the direction provided. Below and on the following pages you will find general guidelines to assist you.

Step 3: JLL Person In Charge (Acts on or delegates tasks to the most appropriate team member)

• Puts on emergency identification vest.
• Reports to the Fire Command Center/Lobby.
• Activates the alarm on floors that need to relocate or evacuate, if necessary.
• Ensures that stairwell doors are unlocked.
• Makes an announcement on the building’s public address (PA) system, if available, to begin the evacuation. See Section 25, Sample Public Announcements.
  • Partial Relocation / Evacuation - Relocate or evacuate one or more floors in the building. Notifies all building tenants of the emergency.
  • Full Building Evacuation - Evacuate people from the building and direct them to the Predetermined Initial Assembly Area in a systematic, controlled manner. If time permits, evacuate five floors at a time, first moving the people from the emergency floor or those floors above, and then moving the people on floors below the emergency floors.
• Recalls the elevators to the lobby or other designated floor.
• Verifies that the elevators have arrived at the designated level and are free of passengers. If some elevators have not arrived and/or passengers are trapped inside the cars, refers to Section 17, Elevator Emergency for instructions.
• Greets the local authorities by holding doors open and directing them to the emergency floor.
• If not evacuating the building, makes an announcement to the relocation floors notifying them of the emergency, and requests that the tenant emergency response teams prepare to accept evacuees. The tenant emergency response teams on the relocation floors direct evacuees out of the stairwells into the elevator lobby to stand by for further instructions. See Section 25, Sample Public Announcements.
• Makes an announcement to the building notifying them of the emergency and informing them that the elevators have been temporarily recalled to the lobby or other designated floor. See Section 25, Sample Public Announcements.
• Prepares for spontaneous evacuation.

Dispatched Team Members

• Put on emergency identification vests.
• Initiate and maintain communication with the JLL Person In Charge.
• Respond to the emergency as directed.
• Report all findings and issues to the JLL Person In Charge as they occur.
• Upon arrival, the local authorities take control of the building and the evacuation. An available Engineer must stay with the fire department to ensure proper use of fire panel and other building equipment.

• Meets with the local authorities to exchange information, and follows additional direction provided.
• Notifies the Customer Service Center (CSC) / Property Team Personnel (PTP) of the current status of the incident and requests notification of the General Manager if needed.

Step 5 General Manager (GM)

• Notifies the appropriate persons from the property, market, and corporate teams.

• Resets the fire alarm system when directed by the fire department. (If electronic locks are used in the stairwells, overrides the system and keeps the doors open until everyone has left the stairwells.) Refers to Section 30, Building System Information for fire alarm panel reset instructions.
• Resets and/or restores all systems and equipment to operational condition.
• Notifies FM Global if sprinkler system is impaired and places affected areas on fire watch. (FM Global contact information can be found on the Property Management page of the Lobby under Risk Management.)
• Implements a full or partial re-entry as directed by the local authorities. Staff members are to hold doors open and call elevators for customers; they are not to discuss the incident, but simply state that the local authorities have deemed conditions safe and have approved re-entry.
• Conducts a full damage assessment.
• Photographs damage to document the incident.
• Initiates salvage and clean-up operations with JLL employees and contracted services.
• Calls contractors to commence repairs.

• Record the chain of events that occurred, being careful to document thoroughly the details of the incident. Be sure to include dates, times, full names of participants, phone numbers, employers, and titles.

• Meets with Property team members and critiques the overall operation. Finds areas to improve and communicates findings so that the Property team can learn from the event.
• Prepares a general summary of events for the tenants, and distributes it to the tenants’ primary contacts. See Section 26, Sample Memos.
• Completes the appropriate Risk Management Report Form, Forms and sends it to Risk Management via fax, email, or overnight delivery. Please use the Claims Reporting Quick Reference Guide located on the Lobby under the Property Management tab.