Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance

Technical guidance to support a temporary change to a simultaneous evacuation strategy in purpose-built blocks of flats

NFCC and our industry partners have published the fourth edition of the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance (SEG). The fourth edition replaces the third edition, published in October 2020.

The SEG, which has been developed by fire safety professionals, seeks to actively discourage the ongoing and prolonged use of a waking watch. The latest edition makes a number of updates and improvements to discourage buildings from having on-site staffing where this may not be needed.

This follows an extensive consultation, during which 500+ comments were received on the guidance and the accompanying Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA).

The key aims of the Simultaneous Evacuation Guidance are:

• Ensuring those with responsibility for buildings fully understand the decision-making process before deciding that a change in evacuation strategy is required.
• Clearer emphasis on resident engagement.
• An end to risk-averse ‘one size fits all’ application of on-site staffing (waking watches or evacuation management) when this is disproportionate to the risk.

Have a look at our new animation video below on the fourth edition of the guidance.

We would encourage you to fully read the new edition of the guidance and refer to our frequently asked questions (FAQs):