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Unfortunately, there appears to be a reemergence of neglect, and resulting potential civil and criminal liability, involving fire safety procedures and emergency response. Recent examples should remind business owners that they should be aware of the issues and have procedures in place to protect their people and their facilities.

More than 10 years ago there was a tragic fire at the Hamlet, N.C., chicken processing plant that claimed 23 lives. There was a groundswell of attention to fire safety and emergency response because of it. Now, it appears that tragic fires are again on the rise again due to fire exit and evacuation issues.

In the North Carolina fire, which started from a leak of hydraulic fluid, numerous employees were trapped in the building because fire exits had been locked to prevent employee theft, or they were sealed to facilitate building refrigeration and cooling. In addition, employees had not been trained in evacuation procedures. The fact that the president of the company went to jail as a result of the accident added impetus for compliance.

Current Situations

However, a recent fire in a Chicago high-rise building containing offices for Cook County claimed the lives of six employees. They were trapped in the building's stairwells attempting to escape a fire. The employees were directed to evacuate the building by using the stairwells. As the stairwells filled with smoke, they were unable to exit the stairwells away from the smoke because the stairwell exit doors were designed to lock after an individual exited. This feature was designed for building security.

The investigation into this Chicago high-rise fire is also questioning whether the building's management company personnel were properly trained. Should building security personal even have issued the evacuation order, which caused the employees to enter the stairwells where the deaths occurred? Recently, the Illinois Department of Labor issued willful citations for inadequate response.

In the past year, another serious incident occurred that caused 21 people to lose their lives. An attempt to break up a fight inside a Chicago nightclub, resulted in the deaths and many injuries as people stampeded to locked or inadequate exits. The nightclub also may have violated a court order prohibiting usage of certain areas of the club premises because of inadequate exits. The Cook County State's Attorney has issued criminal indictments.

OSHA Citations

Recently, OSHA issued citations to the owners of a Rhode Island nightclub as a result of a fire, which killed 100 people, including seven employees. The alleged citations, including a willful violation and six serious violations, carried proposed penalties of $82,000.

Unfortunately, as in the situations mentioned above, a primary focus was the building exits. In this case, an exit door which did not open in the direction of travel. The willful citation involved the doorway, which created a trap for the individuals who were trying to escape.

The owners were also cited for:

• Failure to train employees in the fire hazard plan.
• Failure to designate properly trained employees to assist in the evacuation.
• Failure to have a written emergency action plan.
• Failure to have a written fire plan.
• Allowing an interior exit door and surrounding walls to be covered with highly flammable materials.
• Allowing the exit door to become concealed because the wall covering on the door disguised it.

These fires demonstrate the tragic consequences of failure to comply with basic OSHA and other regulations (including local fire and building codes) that deal with fire emergency response. The OSHA regulations include:

• 29 CFR 1910.38 - Employee emergency plans and fire prevention plans
• 29 CFR 1910.157 - Portable fire extinguishers
• 29 CFR 1910.165 - Employee alarm systems

Finally, employers (and building owners and managers) must become aware of and comply with existing state and local fire and life safety codes that may apply to the structure, including:

• Criteria for exit stairwells fire rating.
• Positive pressure ventilation systems in exit stairwells.
• Means to override stairwell security devices in an emergency to allow escape from stairwells.
• Means of communications (such as telephones) in exit stairwells to allow occupants to notify emergency responders of their locations.
• Written fire response plans developed and submitted to the local jurisdiction regarding coordination between on-site emergency response personnel and the outside fire and emergency responders.
• Mandatory fire and emergency work exercises to evaluate compliance.
• Written documentation of training for on-site emergency response personnel.

Mark A. Lies, II, labor and employment law attorney, and Ronald L. Lipinski, litigation attorney, are partners at the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, 55 East Monroe Street (Suite 4200), Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 269-8877; mlies@seyfarth.com.

This information is compiled and provided by George S. May International Company.
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