From the BERP.
Laboratories must conduct a fire drill every three months. The laboratory supervisor or their delegate is responsible for arranging the drills. Laboratory drills can be simpler than the annual comprehensive fire drill, but do need to be logged and documented. Resources for appropriately documenting drills are available below.
Drill types
Aside from the annual comprehensive fire drill, which will be managed by the building’s Facilities Manager, there are two other types of drills that laboratory personnel can conduct.
Silent drills
Silent drills are local exercises and do not involve the actual activation of the fire alarm system. Personnel respond to the simulation of a fire alarm system activation in accordance with their emergency procedures. These can consist of—but are not limited to—the following:
- A scheduled, in-person walkthrough with all lab members of general written procedures to follow in the event of a fire
- A scheduled, in-person walkthrough with all lab members of emergency preparedness and response procedures to follow for tasks with fire potential
- A scheduled, in-person walkthrough with all lab members of written procedures to follow for fires involving specific hazardous substances present in the laboratory, particularly those that may require specialized control measures in terms of segregation or extinguishing.
Table talk drills
Table talk drills are local exercises and do not involve physical demonstration/simulation of the emergency response activities. They can consist of—but are not limited to—the following:
- A scheduled review (i.e., during a lab meeting) of emergency response procedures for tasks (e.g., Microbio bench) or reactions (e.g., pyrophoric quenching) with fire potential, accompanied by a facilitated discussion to identify if procedures need to be updated
- A facilitated discussion around a specific fire scenario and the proposed responses of individuals to the described scenario, where correct responses are reinforced.
Schedule
| Quarter | Drill type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Silent drill |
| 2 | Table talk drill |
| 3 | Comprehensive drill |
| 4 | Table talk drill |