Emergency Evacuation Plans: What They Must Show and Why the Floor Plan Matters

An emergency evacuation plan is one of the few drawings in a building that people read under stress. It has to be right the first time. Yet many evacuation plans on walls across South Africa show corridors that no longer exist, doors that have been bricked up and exits that lead into storerooms. This article explains what a good evacuation plan shows and why the floor plan underneath matters as much as the arrows on top.

What is an emergency evacuation plan?

It is a simplified floor plan, mounted on the wall at key points in a building, that shows occupants how to get out in an emergency. It supports the written emergency procedures that every employer should have under health and safety legislation, and the escape-route requirements of SANS 10400-T, the fire protection part of the National Building Regulations.

What a good evacuation plan shows

• "You are here": a clear marker showing where the reader is standing.

• Correct orientation: the plan is rotated so that what is ahead of the reader is at the top of the plan. A plan that is the wrong way round is worse than none.

• Escape routes: the primary route to the nearest exit, plus an alternative route in case the first is blocked.

• Exits and stairs: every emergency exit and escape stair, clearly marked.

• Assembly point: where to go once outside, usually on a separate site plan.

• Firefighting and safety equipment: extinguishers, hose reels, alarm call points and first-aid points.

• Standard symbols and a legend: safety signs to SANS 1186-1, so anyone can read the plan.

Because orientation matters, a building usually needs several versions of the plan, one for each mounting point: main entrances, stair lobbies and major corridor junctions.

Why the floor plan underneath matters

The most common problem with evacuation plans is not the symbols or the colours. It is that the base drawing is wrong. Buildings change: partitions move, offices are subdivided, doors are locked or blocked, and storage takes over corridors. If the evacuation plan was traced from the original building plans, it may show a route that no longer exists.

The fix is to start from an accurate measured survey. A 3D laser scan of the building captures every wall, door and stair as they stand today, usually in a few hours on site. The scan becomes a measured base plan, and the evacuation plans are drawn on top of it. The same survey also gives the owner up-to-date as-built drawings for future alterations and facilities management.

Checking the escape routes, not just drawing them

Drawing an evacuation plan is also a chance to check whether the escape routes actually work. Common issues found during a survey include:

• Dead-end corridors with only one way out

• Travel distances to an exit that are too long

• Exit doors that are locked, blocked or open the wrong way

• Missing or unlit exit signage

An architect can flag these against SANS 10400-T and design the fix, rather than simply drawing an arrow along a route that would not pass an inspection.

Who needs evacuation plans?

Any workplace or building used by the public: offices, schools and colleges, student residences, factories and warehouses, apartment blocks, clinics and healthcare facilities. Buildings with staff canteens or kitchens often also need plans for a Certificate of Acceptability, which can be drawn from the same survey.

How A4AC can help

A4AC Architects draws emergency evacuation plans from a LiDAR scan of your building, with one plan per mounting point, a site plan with assembly points, and a short report on any escape-route problems we find. We work in any municipality in South Africa.

Email Dirk Coetser at dirk@a4ac.co.za with the address, floor area and number of floors for a fixed-fee quote.