Assembly areas, headcounts and accounting for everyone

Getting people out of the building is only half the job. The fire service arriving at a burning building needs to know one thing above all: is anyone still inside? If wardens can say confidently that everyone is accounted for, firefighters can concentrate on the fire. If they cannot, firefighters must search, which takes time and puts them at risk, and they may search for people who are actually standing across the street. This lesson covers how to choose and run assembly areas, how to account for people, and how to reconcile a headcount quickly and honestly.

Choosing assembly areas

An assembly area, also called a muster point or meeting point, is a place where evacuated people gather so that they can be accounted for and kept safe. It should be far enough from the building to be clear of falling glass, smoke and fire, and out of the way of fire trucks, hydrants and the fire department connection. It should be reachable without crossing busy roads if possible, large enough for everyone expected, and accessible for people with mobility impairments. It should have a backup in case the first is unusable because of wind direction, the location of the fire, or another hazard.

The distance rule of thumb is only a starting point. Wind can carry smoke much further, and a building with large glass facades can shed glass well beyond its height. In dense downtown areas, it may be impossible to find space that meets every factor; the plan may then use a nearby park, a plaza, a parking lot or an agreed space in a neighboring building, and should arrange this with the owner in advance.

Sizing an assembly area

How much space is needed? Guidance varies, and US codes do not set a single number for workplace assembly areas. Planning figures in common use range from about 5 ft² per person for people standing close together to about 10 ft² per person for people standing in groups with room to move and for wardens to work. Allow more for people using wheelchairs or mobility aids, for strollers, and for circulation between groups. Treat these as planning figures, not legal requirements.

Running the assembly area

Assembly areas work best when people know where to stand. Many buildings mark positions for each floor, department or tenant with signs or numbered posts, so that floor wardens can see quickly who is missing. An assembly area warden, or the chief warden, takes position at a known point, often marked by a flag or a high-visibility vest of a particular color, where floor wardens report. People should be told to stay at the assembly area until released, not to leave in cars or go for coffee, because anyone who leaves unannounced becomes a person who might still be inside.

In bad weather or long events, people may need shelter. The plan can arrange for a nearby building, a transit shelter or a covered area to receive people, but accounting must be finished first, and the move must be organized so that nobody is lost from the count.

Methods of accounting for people

There are several ways to account for people, and most buildings use a combination. Each has strengths and weaknesses.

OSHA 1910.38(c)(4) requires emergency action plans to include procedures to account for all employees after evacuation. Employers should extend this to visitors and contractors, who are not employees but may be present.

Reconciling the headcount

Reconciliation means comparing the people known to have been in the building with the people known to be safe, and resolving the differences. It must be fast, because the fire service is waiting, and it must be honest: "probably everyone" is not good enough. A missing person is either outside and not yet counted, away from the building for a reason nobody knew, or still inside. Only the third possibility matters to firefighters, and the job of reconciliation is to narrow the list of names as fast as possible.

Hybrid work, shifts and visitors

Modern workplaces make headcounts harder. With hybrid work, the staff list says nothing about who is in today. Desk booking systems, access control data and team check-ins help, but none is perfect. Shift work means the population changes during the day. Visitors and contractors may not know the assembly area, may not have signed in, and may leave without telling anyone. Good plans recognize these gaps: visitors are escorted by their hosts, contractors report to their site contact, and wardens carry or can access a current list for their area, which may be electronic but must also work if the building's systems are down.

Reporting to the fire service

When the fire service arrives, the chief warden, or designated person, meets the officer in charge at an agreed point, often the main entrance or the fire alarm annunciator, and hands over information. The most important items are: the location of the fire if known, the alarm zone, anyone still inside or unaccounted for and where they might be, people waiting in refuges, any hazards such as gas or chemicals, and the status of building systems. Keys, floor plans and the fire safety plan or emergency action plan box are often kept at the entrance for this purpose.

Releasing people and returning

Only the fire service or the person in charge, when the fire service is not involved, can declare the building safe to re-enter. The chief warden then tells floor wardens, who release their groups and manage the return, making sure that people do not crowd the elevators and that anyone who needed help is supported. If the building will not reopen, the plan should say how people are released, how they get their belongings later, and how the organization will communicate with them.