Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Fire
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Student Handout |
Up to Code?
Fire safety codes exist to ensure that the buildings you live, work and play in are designed to allow you to get out safely if there is a fire. How safe are the buildings in which you spend your time? Find out by analyzing the fire
safety features of public and private buildings in your community.
Procedure
Decide with your group the type of building you will evaluate:
Public Building (such as a school, mall, cinema or library) Your Home (get permission from a parent or guardian first) Brainstorm features of building
design and construction that you consider important for fire safety. Find out about government codes for fire safety by researching on the Internet
or by calling your local fire department, your local office of the National Fire Protection Agency and/or your regional Federal Emergency Management Agency. Create a "master" checklist of fire safety features with groups who are evaluating the same type of building. This list should include the 10 to 15 most important safety features you will use to evaluate the building. Collect data for the building you have chosen to inspect—through
visits, telephone calls or other
means—using your safety features checklist as a guide. After you have collected the data, organize it into a chart like the one below. This will help you compare data with other groups.
Questions
What features did you choose to include on your checklist? Explain why you think these are the most important. Based on your data, how safe do you think the building is in terms of:
Explain why. How would you improve the
building? Make a list of your recommendations. Compare your building to another
group's building. How are the safety features of the two buildings alike or different? Explain.
Make a chart like this one for your answers:
Building:
Age of Building:
Use of Building:
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