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UNIVERSITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN
Document on Fire Safety re: UUMC Sanctuary and other areas
THIS IS THE PRINTED VERSION. AN ADAPTATION OF IT SHOULD
BE USED ANNUALLY AND SPOKEN TO THE CONGREGATION
This is a review of guidelines and instructions about fire safety. It is
important to think about fire safety in advance of any critical incident. We
have regularly reviewed fire safety instructions in recent years, and our 2002
construction project has rendered those previous instructions obsolete.
The new instructions are provided with input from the East Lansing Fire Marshal
who has walked the facilities with church members and staff. This review focuses
on the church building, not the Wesley Foundation building which begins where
the hallway starts north of the church’s new lobby area.
The church’s entire three floors are now equipped with an alarm system. It is
designed to sound if it detects smoke. It also sounds if a person pulls a fire
alarm station. The fire alarm will sound throughout the church’s three floors.
If the alarm sounds during a worship service or at another time, the general
instruction is evacuate and gather about the fenced backyard of the ranch style
house the church owns. This backyard is on the north side of the parking lot and
it has a wooden fence that faces the parking lot.
Anyone, or multiple persons, should phone 911 to report smoke or fire to the
fire department. The anticipated response time for the first firefighting unit
to arrive here is about 3 minutes. Multiple units will automatically respond
because this is a public building.
Think now together about evacuation of the sanctuary, this room. This room
has three exits, two in the front and the main exit in the rear. Once out of the
sanctuary through the rear exit, then there are three options for movement
outside (straight ahead into the Wesley Foundation area and proceeding to
outside, or turning right into the memorial garden, or turning left to the
parking lot area.
The balcony and second floor rooms behind it have two exit means. The
basement has two exits, one at the southeast corner and the other near the
basement’s northwest corner. Learn where all exits lead on all three floors.
The best means for evacuating the sanctuary in most situations is to follow
these instructions:
The front half of the entire sanctuary should exit from the two front exits.
The south side should exit the southeast door, turn left once outside and follow
the sidewalk to the front of the church and proceed along Harrison Road. The
north side should exit near the Tennant Chapel and through the memorial garden
and then proceed to the common assembling area by the fenced backyard. The back
half of the room should exit to the rear. Those on the north side, the memorial
garden side, then proceed into the memorial garden and through it to gathering
area. Those on the south side, walk straight though into the Wesley Foundation
Wing and down that long hallway to the outside.
Fire safety officials recommend that all persons gather, after exiting, in
one location to help family members and friends find one another, so we’ve
chosen the area in and around the fenced backyard north of the parking lot. Do
not gather and do not mingle on the south side of the church nor the area out
the new back door that faces the parking lot. These two areas are the locations
where the first two fire response units will arrive, and they will do so in a
big hurry. Do not be in the way, to slow down the firefighters.
The elevator should not be used by anyone if the alarm is sounding. If
determined that the source of the problem is not anywhere in proximity to the
elevator and that the source is not an electrical problem, the fire marshall has
recommended, then persons with mobility problems may be transported on the
elevator. Otherwise, persons with mobility problems should be carried if
necessary to be assisted to the outside.
Let’s review the second floor classrooms where the babies and youngest
children are cared for. The babies and our youngest children here on Sunday
mornings are all cared for in that second floor area. The Fire Marshall
states this area is the safest part of the church with what is called a
"protected space" status. This means that absent a nearby explosive incident,
the area has the capacity to be safe from fire and smoke for a long time if the
fire doors around it are closed. This is a source of comfort to all of us, no
doubt. If the fire alarm sounds, child care providers have been instructed to
evacuate with the children and to proceed to the single gathering area. The
children will be escorted into the fenced backyard. Parents and others concerned
about these smallest children need to be extremely cautious about going up the
stairways lest the evacuation be interfered with and safety of the children
compromised. The children coming down the stairway that enters the lobby area
outside this room will be led out the back door of the building and then on the
sidewalk to the fenced backyard.
Persons seated in the balcony should follow these instructions. Those who
have children in the child care rooms should use either of the two doors in the
balcony to enter the child care area and assist the care providers in helping
the exit of babies and children. For those not affiliated with those children,
if you are on the south side, use the south side stairs to exit out the building
and proceed to the gathering area. Those on the north side may use either the
south or north stairs to exit.
Parents of children must not take the child away from the care provider or
Sunday School teacher. The teachers must be able to account for every child once
the fenced area is reached. These adults will carry a roster of children in
their care as they exit their rooms.
If ever an evacuation occurs the most able bodied in the sanctuary or in
other areas are asked to provide assistance to those less able bodied. Mobility
challenged individuals and companions should use the exit nearest to them, and
they do not need to report to the common assembly area.
Ushers have been asked to assist persons having difficulty exiting, but
everyone able to assist others is asked to do so. Ushers will also search the
entire building as the evacuation concludes to look for persons left behind.
In any evacuation, it is important not to permit yourself to panic and thus
lose control of decision making skills. It is also important to maintain low
noice level so all can hear instructions. Be prepared to personally pull a fire
alarm station if you see fire or smoke. Be prepared to personally use a fire
extinguisher if necessary, and learn where the extinguishers are located
strategically around the building.
Thank you for your attention to fire safety at UUMC.
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