Fire

Familiarize yourself with your building’s evacuation procedure and always exit the building in the event of a fire alarm – whether it is a false alarm, a drill or otherwise.

Procedures

  • Pull the nearest fire alarm
  • Evacuate the building via nearest safe exit; do not use elevators
  • Close all doors behind you
  • Proceed to the assembly area
  • Do not re-enter until authorized by the emergency/safety personnel

Evacuating with mobility challenges

  • Pre-plan what to do if there is an emergency in your building and know the exit routes available and what horizontal evacuation options exist.
  • If no exit is available then find a safe place, such as an area of refuge*, and let someone know where you are so that info can be passed to first responders.
    • If you are in one, stay there.
    • If not, move to a safe place in a different part of the same floor (horizontal evacuation).
  • Supervisors/Instructors:
    • Know the layout of your buildings, any exit challenges and potential safe places.
    • Know what you would do if an evacuation occurs and you have folks in your area of responsibility that have mobility challenges.
    • Know and be able to describe (room numbers, etc.) exactly where any persons with mobility-challenges have elected to await rescue.
    • Make sure to tell the first emergency responder you see in detail and make sure action is being taken.

Important: If you are an SFU staff or faculty member with mobility related disabilities, you are encouraged to share this information with your Building Evacuation Coordinator (BEC) who can arrange some assistance for you in an event of an evacuation. If you don't know who your BEC is, send an email to srs_em@sfu.ca.  

*Area of Refuge refers to any stairwell that is equipt with fire doors.

Download the PDF (printable) version of the maps per campus below:  

Reporting

In the event of an emergency, call 911.
All fires regardless of size must be reported to Campus Security from a safe location.

Resources

Safety tips

  • Feel the top of doors. If they are hot, or smoke is visible, do not open
  • Do not attempt to save any possessions at the risk of personal injury
  • Do not break windows because oxygen feeds fire
  • Stay low if moving through smoke
  • Staff should offer to assist students and visitors during a building evacuation if possible
  • If safe to do so, supervisors should shut down equipment and main shut off valves prior to evacuating
  • Use a fire extinguisher on small fires ONLY if you are trained, feel comfortable, and it is safe to do so

Two-stage alarms

The following buildings use two stage alarms. The first alarm (slow and intermittent sound) signals standby for instructions over the emergency voice paging system. A second alarm (rapid sound) signals a full building evacuation.

  • Surrey campus
  • Vancouver – Harbour Centre building
  • Vancouver – Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts building