Emergency Evacuation Plans – Get Out (evacuate) or Stay Put?

Knowing what to do in the event of a fire is critical—it could mean the difference between life and death. If you live in a Higher-Risk Residential Building (HRRB), it’s essential to understand your building’s fire strategy and whether you should evacuate or stay put.

The Accountable Person must clearly communicate the escape strategy and display it in prominent areas, such as communal noticeboards or on the back of your flat door.

Evacuate

If your building operates a Simultaneous Evacuation Strategy, there will usually be fire detection and alarm systems in both communal areas and individual flats.

• In the event of a fire in any flat or communal area, all occupants must leave the building immediately.
• Manual call points (red boxes on walls) may be provided—break the glass and press the button to activate the alarm.
• In smaller premises without alarms, you may need to alert others by shouting or knocking on doors.
• In some cases, alarms in flats are linked to the communal system, so a fire in a flat will trigger the building alarm.

Stay Put

The Stay Put principle assumes each flat is a protected fire-resistant cell. If a fire starts in another flat or communal area, you remain in your flat unless:

• The fire is in your own flat, or
• The Fire Service instructs you to evacuate.

A purpose-built block of flats is designed so that fires are contained for at least 30 minutes, giving the Fire Service time to respond. However, this only works if:

• Compartmentation is intact (walls, floors, ceilings, and flat entrance doors).
• Flat doors fit properly, have intumescent strips and smoke seals, and include a self-closing mechanism.

If these features are compromised, the Stay Put strategy may not be safe. Over time, some buildings originally designed for Stay Put have had alarms installed in communal areas due to maintenance issues or breaches in fire separation.

Temporary Changes

Your building’s evacuation strategy may be temporarily altered if flammable cladding is present. Interim measures—such as additional alarms or detectors in flats—may remain in place until cladding remediation is complete.