Emergency Situations and Safety
Fire and evacuation
Know RACE: Remove anyone in immediate danger, Activate the alarm, Contain the fire by closing doors, Evacuate (or stay in place if directed). For a small fire and only if trained, use PASS: Pull the pin, Aim low at the base, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side. Never use elevators during a fire alarm, never re-enter a building until cleared by the fire service, and know the assembly area and your role in the fire safety plan.
Medical and other emergencies
For a medical emergency: ensure your safety, call 911, send for the AED and first-aid kit, provide care within your training and with consent if the person is conscious. Preserve the scene and document. Other scenarios to know: power failure, flood, bomb threat (record exact words, time, background noise; do not use radios or cell phones nearby if a device is suspected), suspicious packages (do not touch; cordon off), and violent-intruder response (get out, hide out, as a last resort defend yourself).
Personal safety and the law
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, workers have rights including the right to know about hazards, to participate, and to refuse unsafe work, and employers must address workplace violence and harassment. Your first duty is your own safety - you cannot help anyone if you become a casualty. Maintain situational awareness, keep an exit route, and use the two-person rule where required.
The traps
Elevator use, re-entry, delaying 911 to "investigate first," and touching a suspicious package are standard wrong answers. Another trap is assuming a guard must physically confront an armed intruder.
Rule of thumb
Life safety first, property second; call, contain, evacuate, document.