Action to be Taken by Members on Hearing the Alarm or on Suspecting or Finding a Fire Within Buchanan Bridge Club

If the alarm sounds:

Evacuate the premises calmly and in an orderly fashion by the front door unless the route to it is impeded by smoke or fire, otherwise the nearest exit or as directed by the officer responsible for evacuation. Assemble by or close to 8 Clairmont Gardens, four doors to the left, keeping to the pavement.

The officer responsible for evacuation of the ground floor is the Steward or his deputy.
On each upper floor the officer in charge of evacuation is the Tournament Director,Congress Convener, Team Captain or Class Teacher for the event taking place wholly or partly in the front room of that floor (facing Clairmont Gardens).

The Steward or his deputy is the Fire Officer in overall charge, who will summon the Fire Service. After checking the ground floor is clear, he will stand at the bottom of the steps outside the front door and be available to receive any further information.

Do not stop for belongings.

Assist an infirm member to evacuate if help is needed and you are confident you are safely able to do so.

There are 3 exit points:

Front door on ground floor, which is the normal exit point: first push the catch to the left if engaged, then turn the handle and push outwards.

Emergency door at rear of bar area on ground floor leading to the lower steps of the fire escape: push the bar, walk down the steps, then through the rear yard and through the gate leading to Somerset Place Mews. Turn left and go round the block to Clairmont Gardens.

Emergency door in back room on 1st floor leading to the fire escape: push the bar and walk down the steps, then through the rear yard and through the gate leading to Somerset Place Mews. Turn left and go round the block to Clairmont Gardens.

Whether exiting by the front door or the fire escape, take great care to avoid falling on the steps/stairs.

Please take care not to push and thereby increase the risk of others falling.

Take care of moving traffic and spread along the pavement if need be rather than spilling over onto the road.

Do not re-enter the building or leave the assembly point without the permission of the Steward (Fire Officer) or his deputy.

If you discover a fire:

Raise the alarm by shouting FIRE! and sound the alarm by pushing in the plastic front (pressing on the black circle between the arrows) of the call point on your floor. These are COLOURED RED and are located on the wall in the hall/landings:

Ground Floor:  right side of front door (when exiting);
                            left side of the Emergency Exit door in the Bar.

First Floor:  top of the stairs on the left hand side;
                      left side of the Emergency Exit door in the rear room.

Top Floor:  on the landing to the left of the ladies’ toilet door.

Attack the fire with a portable extinguisher only if you have been trained to do so and are confident it is safe to do so.

Otherwise, follow the instructions above as if you had heard the alarm.

If you suspect a fire by smelling smoke or burning:

If the alarm has not been activated, advise the Fire Officer or person in charge of the floor in question (as described above) and assist if you can in carrying out an initial short search of the area if confident it is safe to do so.

If the smell is still apparent and cannot be explained following a short search of no more than 3-4 minutes, the Fire Officer or officer in charge will raise the alarm and proceed with evacuation as described above.

Version 5:  September 2013