Fire Alarms and Evacuation

This article is part of a series on behaviour and communal living issues in residences. In this article, we’ll cover:

• Fire safety in residences 

• Fire evacuation dos and don’ts

• Fire safety, your contract, and disciplinary consequences



Fire safety in residences

Everyone living in accommodation needs to know how to stay safe from fire risks, and how to evacuate safely when the alarm sounds. This section takes you through your fire safety responsibilities while you’re living in the Accommodation. It’ll teach you what to do to make sure you know how to stay safe.

This short video, Stay Safe at Uni - Fire Safety, takes you through a few fire safety tips from us on staying safe while you're living in student accommodation.



Fire safety is everyone’s responsibility. In shared accommodation, normal fire risks are magnified. Wherever you have lots of people living together, using different appliances, and cooking at different times of the day and night, you have an increased risk of fire. Fires in university accommodation can be extremely dangerous, spreading quickly and putting hundreds of lives at risk, like the 2019 fire at university accommodation in Bolton. For this reason, you’re provided with plenty of support to understand how to stay safe. The video above is a good place to start! You can also read more in our article: Everything you need to know about fire safety.

Fire evacuation dos and don’ts

Here are some tips for safe fire evacuations.

Things you should do:

• Learn where the fire alarm call points and fire evacuation routes are, especially for your accommodation, but also for all the buildings you spend time in. You need to know this before there’s an emergency - because when you need this knowledge, you really need it. 

• Evacuate immediately every time you hear the alarm, and wait at the assembly point until Security says it’s safe to go back inside. If there’s ever a situation where it’s unsafe for you to evacuate due to a fire, try to find an alternative evacuation route, or station yourself behind a closed fire door, and call Security to let them know where you are (0114 222 4444).

• Report any items you find blocking your evacuation route. Obstructions are large items like bikes, camp beds, pushchairs, and so on. Big items like this block corridors and pose a risk. They can injure and delay people trying to get out of the building, and obstruct Security and firefighters who are trying to get in to assess the risk, especially if corridors are filled with smoke. You can report obstructions to ACS Customer Services, and they’ll arrange for them to be removed.

• Make sure you’ve got any support you need to evacuate. If you can’t easily hear an alarm, and/or leave the building quickly in an emergency, contact residencelife@sheffield.ac.uk. Someone will get in touch and help you make a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). Even if you just have a temporary injury like a sprained ankle, if you’d need help to get out quickly, get in touch.



Things you shouldn’t do:

• Don’t set off the fire alarm when there’s no emergency. Setting off a fire alarm as a prank is a criminal offence, and the disciplinary consequences for this are very severe. 

• Don’t ever ignore a fire alarm. When the alarm sounds, you need to leave the building. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, just leave. Ignoring a fire alarm doesn’t just put you yourself in danger, it also endangers Security staff and firefighters, who’ll have to enter the building to look for you. Refusing to evacuate, or evacuating unreasonably slowly, is a serious disciplinary offence.

• Don't use the lifts to evacuate. Lifts stop working during fire evacuations, so you can't use them to leave the building. Take the stairs. If you can't navigate the stairs, find shelter in a refuge point and use the intercom to call Security, or call them from behind a closed fire door.

• Don’t leave the accommodation for a long time without telling anyone. If there’s a fire and you can’t be found, firefighters will have to try to find you in the building, which might put them at great risk, especially if you're not actually there. If you’re leaving the accommodation for a few days, just let your flatmates know. If there’s an evacuation, they can make sure Security staff know that no one needs to look for you.

Fire safety, your contract, and disciplinary consequences

Fire safety is taken very seriously. Breaking these rules not only puts yourself in danger, but also endangers everyone around you. If you act negligently or recklessly, and endanger yourself and others in this way, you’ll face disciplinary consequences. If you’re judged to have breached your residence contract, or the The Regulations relating to the Discipline of Students, the consequences can include fines of up to £200, and in some cases, expulsion from University accommodation.

Now you know how to stay safe:

• Follow the rules

• Be alert to fire risks

• Report any concerns

• Evacuate every time the alarm sounds.

Hopefully this article has helped you to understand fire safety in residences, some evacuation dos and don’ts, your contract, and the disciplinary consequences of breaking these rules. If you have any further questions about fire safety issues and how they apply to you in your accommodation, ask your Residence Life Mentor for more advice. Stay safe!

- Residence Life