Survey Shows Many Tenants Not Prepared for an Emergency in their Building

More than 54 percent of tenants say they have never looked at their building’s emergency plan

SEATTLE, WA -- February 5, 2007 -- A recent national survey conducted by MarketTools shows that many workers in high-rise office buildings are not prepared for a wide variety of emergencies. While more than 70 percent said they have had emergencies in their building, over 50 percent said they did not know where their building's emergency plan is located, and 54% said they had never looked at their building's emergency plan.

“Preparedness is the key to saving lives and property during emergencies, said Peter Lucarelli, retired Assistant Fire Chief of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. “It's paramount that property managers educate tenants about safety procedures, and provide all occupants with a method to quickly access emergency procedures.”

Most buildings are required by fire code to have Emergency Action Plans and conduct drills, but according to the survey, most of those are fire drills (86%). While power outages represent 73% of building’s emergencies, only 23% of buildings conduct drills focused on power outages. Of the remaining emergencies upon which buildings conduct drills, bomb threats represent 11%, terrorist attacks 9%, earthquakes 8%, and violent intruder incidents 7%.

Click to view the full GuideSafe Tenant Safety Survey Results.

Can't view the file? Download Adobe Reader now.