During a fire emergency, quick action is necessary to keep people safe and bring calmness to the situation. The fire warden has to lead and guide people to safety. But to discharge their duties effectively, they need to be easily located by people. That is why every fire warden wears a Hi-Vis vest when responding to a fire emergency.
A Hi-Vis vest is a vest with high visibility properties that can be identified from afar. It helps fire wardens to stand out from crowded places during a fire emergency. Let us explore some of the benefits of fire wardens wearing highly visible vests during fire emergencies.
Roles played by Hi-Vis Vest in a fire emergency
– Assistance in low visibility conditions
Fire emergencies can sometimes cause smoke, darkness or power failures, creating poor visibility in the process. A hi-vis vest is good at reflecting light and it makes a warden visible even in a place with poor lighting. This ensures that the evacuees locate them easily and ensure they are also rescued from the scene.
– Encouraging calm and order
During a fire outbreak, people tend to do things in a rush without rationale. Everyone will be running up and down trying to find an escape route. Others will be trying to go through a single doorway simultaneously. There is no calm or order of doing things unless someone recognisable can take control of the situation. Fire wardens have been properly trained on how to handle fire emergencies and ensure everyone gets to safety. The safety locations are isolated places where fire outbreaks can barely hit. It is a temporary safe spot where people can stay as they await the emergency team to arrive at the scene and evacuate them. When people see fire wardens in uniforms, they tend to get a sigh of relief and remain calm as they await further instructions from the wardens.
– Improved coordination with other responders
Other responders in a fire emergency include firefighters, police officers and medical teams. When these responders arrive at the scene, they may need crucial information like how many people are in the building, their exact locations, how many are injured and how many are in critical condition. Such professionals can rely on fire wardens to get such information quickly before deciding on how to best deal with the situation. Also, fire wardens can lead the emergency team to areas where their help is needed thus helping to save lives.
– increased safety for fire wardens
As discussed earlier, fire emergencies can bring a lot of confusion making people run up and down aimlessly. As a result, the high visibility nature of the warden’s vest makes them visible and helps to avoid accidents. People can easily locate them and avoid stumbling on them. The fracas in a fire emergency can result in serious injuries and even death of those who are slow and physically unfit to resist the pressure being thrown around.
Final thoughts
A hi-vis vest is a crucial part of a warden’s standard gear that helps them to be easily identifiable from the rest of the individuals. People can trust their authority without questioning because of their preparedness. The vest makes them visible and prevents others from harming them as they run up and down to find help. Lastly, other responders like the police and medical teams can rely on fire wardens for critical information and directions to rescue the victims of such circumstances.
Check out available vests at https://proactivegroupau.com.au/collections/emergency-fire-warden-identification-vests.
