PEEPS - Whose Responsibility Are They?

PEEPS - Whose Responsibility are they?

Employers, service providers and building managers may face many challenges when it comes to evacuating mobility impaired persons from their buildings in the event of an emergency and when lifts can not be used.

Ultimately, it must be possible to evacuate all users of a building to a place of Complete Safety without depending on the Fire Service, in most cases this is a designated external location away from the building and not obstructing the approach of the Fire Service known as an Assembly Point.

However, depending on the type of building, its use, the agreed emergency procedures and the fire safety systems provided it may be appropriate to have what is known as a Refuge Area, this is a designated area that is considered as a place of Relative Safety where assistance may be summoned if a communication system is provided or suitably trained staff will go to assist a mobility impaired person as required.

Under no circumstances should a refuge be considered a place of complete safety or a place to leave someone to be rescued by the Fire Service.

If a mobility impaired person is permitted into a building there must be suitable and sufficient provisions to get them out including appropriate supporting documentation that would generally include the building fire strategy, fire risk assessment, emergency procedures, a logbook and Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans often referred to as PEEPs.

A PEEP is a document that should be completed by the Responsible Person or their Duty Holder together with the disabled person who is an employee, resident or regularly user of the building to understand their requirements should they need assistance to evacuate the building safely in the event of an emergency.

In public buildings where it is unknown if a disabled person may be entering and they are not regular users of the building, a Generic or General Emergency Evacuation Plan often referred to as a GEEP should be produced. This would be pre-planned procedure that would ensure a disabled person can be evacuated to a place of complete safety without it being personalised to their specific needs.

It is essential to remember you must be able to evacuate anyone permitted into your building and if you can’t access must be refused or restricted.

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan