A well-organized fire emergency plan will increase the chances of survival for your visitors and employees in the event of a fire emergency. Success is based on three key elements: Fire Department Participation, Management Participation and Employee Participation.

The Overland Park Fire Department makes every effort to have the necessary equipment available for our personnel. This includes information about specific hazards, maps of larger facilities and general knowledge of the business operations in our city, as well as the latest in fire fighting equipment and training. Our new construction, code enforcement and operations personnel work closely to communicate the needs of the businesses in our community.

As a manager, you have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for your employees and customers. This means having the appropriate safety equipment, a well-organized fire plan and providing this information and equipment to those who will use it.

Employees and customers can only be protected to a point. Fire safety depends as much on personal accountability as anything else. State of the art equipment and well-organized plans only work if those using them react properly.

The other links in this section will help you organize your fire safety program to appropriately meet the needs of all of these groups. The suggestions are made with a wide variety of organizations in mind. Your organization may be too small or too large to use every suggestion. Simply use the information that best applies to your organizational structure. Sample forms and maps are also included. We thought they might be useful to you as you organize your plan. Feel free to use them as is or modify them to fit your needs. As always, if you have questions or need further guidance please do not hesitate to call our office at 913/888-6066.

How to Get Started:
Your fire emergency evacuation plan should take into consideration the unique features of your building(s) and occupants.

We can review your plan with you if you'd like. We'd also like to have a completed copy of your plan.

• Survey the Building: Determine what types of fire and life safety systems you have; voice alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers, manual pull alarms, fire extinguishers and fire doors.
  
  
• Survey the Occupants:Does your building house a changing population, as in a retail store or restaurant, or will the occupants be familiar with the facility?
  
  Note any special needs that individuals may have, such as language barriers or physical disabilities.
  
  
• Create a Floor Plan: Prepare a basic FLOOR PLAN for each floor of the building. Show the primary and secondary fire exits as well as the locations of all fire extinguishers and manual alarm pull stations.
  
  Post the floor plan throughout the building.
  
  Mark YOU ARE HERE according to the location of the posted plan.Then mark the two closest fire exits.
  
  Also, note that the elevators must NOT be used as a fire exit.