Evacuation

The AU-wide evacuation concept must:

  • Ensure good conditions for safe evacuation.
  • Prevent and reduce the risk of personal injury.

The concept for evacuation at Aarhus University must work at all times. The university is an open institution, and so the people who are to act as evacuation leaders and meeting point leaders are not appointed in advance. It is important that everyone is able to step in and assume the role of evacuation leader or meeting point leader, if the situation demands it. It is therefore important that everyone who spends time at Aarhus University is familiar with the evacuation concept in detail.

Evacuation areas

Aarhus University’s total floor area is 700,000 m2. In order to facilitate the evacuation of staff and students in a systematic way, AU’s total floor area has been divided into several smaller areas called evacuation areas.

An evacuation area is usually a specific floor or part of a floor in a building. The evacuation area has a meeting point where the people who have been evacuated meet. An evacuation plan is prepared for each evacuation area.

Each evacuation area is responsible for its own evacuation effort. In this connection, it is important that employees and students familiarise themselves with the type of evacuation signal used in the area in question as well as with the instructions for the evacuation leader and for the meeting point leader.

All building sections/buildings at AU are divided into two types of areas: areas with permanent staff and areas without permanent staff.

 

Areas with permanent staff
When an evacuation area with permanent staff is to be evacuated, the evacuation leader and the meeting point leader can find instructions and vests (one yellow vest and one orange vest) in the evacuation holder in the hallway.

In addition to becoming familiar with the applicable evacuation concept on this website, regular evacuation drills will be held so that staff and students can practise.

 

Areas without permanent staff
These areas include areas with unrestricted access and areas to which access is restricted for certain periods of time or for which access cards are required.

If the evacuation of particular areas becomes necessary, the people in these areas will receive information via the alarm system, if such a system is installed, or via voice alarm, signs and maps.

Regular drills will be held in these areas as well, so that staff, students and others who are present in these areas can practise how to evacuate these areas.

How to evacuate an area

There are clearly marked holders set up in each evacuation area (areas with permanent staff) which contain:

  • A yellow vest with the text: ”Aarhus Universitet. Evakuering” (Aarhus University. Evacuation)
  • A laminated yellow instruction sheet with a detailed step-by-step description of the evacuation leader’s duties. The area which is to be evacuated is illustrated on the instruction sheet.
  • An orange vest with the text “Aarhus Universitet. Evakuering”  (Aarhus University. Evacuation)
  • A laminated orange instruction sheet with a detailed step-by-step description of the meeting point leader’s duties. The location of the meeting point is illustrated on a photo on the instruction sheet.

The evacuation leader puts on the yellow vest and follows the instructions on the yellow instruction sheet. The evacuation leader’s task is to clear the area of people. In connection with the evacuation of the area, the surrounding areas must be informed that evacuation is taking place.

The meeting point leader puts on the orange vest and follows the instructions on the orange instruction sheet. The meeting point leader’s task is to meet the evacuees at the specified meeting point outside the building.

Always consider your own safety when assuming the role of evacuation or meeting point leader.

Evacuation vs. barricading

In situations in which a person is deliberately attempting to injure others, evacuation may not necessarily be the best way to reach safety. In a situation like this, if you leave university buildings to get to the assembly point, you may expose yourself to danger. 

In such cases, people in the danger zone should try to reach safety either by getting as far away from the perpetrator as possible or by barricading themselves into a safe place.