User Manual

22
Siemens Switzerland Ltd
Building Technologies Division
Depending on region and usage, the top floor and all basement floors may also
be evacuated during this first phase. As the fire spreads, all other floors are
evacuated one after the other in subsequent evacuation phases. During the first
phase, a warning message instructs people on these floors to wait.
3.4.3. Organization
A successful evacuation can only be achieved when the appropriate infrastructure and management organization
are in place and are regularly reviewed.
Up-to-date evacuation
plans
In many countries approved plans for fire alarm and evacuation measures are
required by law. These plans must detail all necessary actions to be taken during
emergencies and designate the persons responsible for the implementation of
such actions. In countries where no such legislation exists, the individual hotel
manager must create his own plans. Department heads and senior staff should
consult with local authorities and the fire service to formulate the most effective
plans for the premises.
Regular fire drills Regular meetings and fire drills are essential in keeping evacuation plans up to
date and the staff fully prepared for any emergency.
Regular checks should be made to ensure:
• Escape routes are always free from blockages of any sort and that any
emergency fire exits remain unlocked (although they will generally be
supervised by an in-house alarm system for security purposes).
• Emergency lighting is well-maintained and always in perfect working
order.
3.4.4. Evacuation instruction
The single most important factor in a successful evacuation is providing the hotel guests with clear instructions on
what they have to do. In a hotel environment it is generally considered inadequate to rely on the guests being
able to correctly interpret the meaning of the acoustic ‘alert’ and ’evacuate’ signals from simple sounders.
Evacuation
announcements (voice)
As mentioned earlier, the most effective way of getting the information to the
hotel guests is by way of a voice alarm system. However, the messages
transmitted by such a system can only be effective if they are both heard and
understood.
Although the ambient noise level in hotel guest rooms is relatively low (under 35
dBA with the TV off and up to 70 dBA with the TV on), it is recommended that
speakers are installed in all guest rooms and that these should provide an
acoustic output of at least 75 dBA. However, what really counts is not just
whether the message can be heard, but that the information being announced
can be understood: the quality of the system is crucial. This can be quantified
according to the Speech Transmission Index (STI) and a good system should
attain at least 0.5 on this scale. The type, quantity and the positioning of the
speakers are important factors in fulfilling this intelligibility criterion in all parts of
the building.
Intelligibility
In international hotels the guests may come from many countries and speak
different languages. However, it is considered best practice to transmit the
evacuation messages in the local language and the more common internationally
spoken languages only. Broadcasting the messages in too many languages may
be counterproductive, taking excessively long and affecting the evacuation time.
Language