At the time of move-in, each tenant is asked to designate a Tenant Emergency Response Team. This team consists of designated personnel that will be responsible for taking charge in the event of a fire or other emergency. It is up to each tenant to assure that this team is formed and educated on how to handle an emergency. It is important to keep track of your team and make changes when designated personnel leave employment of the firm or for other reasons are no longer able to perform the outlined duties of emergency personnel.

While the Management Office may periodically host Floor Warden training meetings, the general responsibilities for the Tenant Emergency Response Team are outlined here. It is the responsibility of all Tenant Emergency Response Team personnel to familiarize themselves with these guidelines as well as all of the building’s Emergency Procedures.

The number of Primary & Secondary Floor Response Team positions depends on the size of your company. Please use the guidelines below:

• Single suite tenant: Please designate TWO Floor Wardens; a primary and a backup
• Multi suite tenant: Please designate TWO Floor Wardens; a primary and a backup
• Full Floor Tenant: Please designate at least FOUR Floor Wardens; 2 primary and 2 backups, it is advisable to divide up your space and assign Floor Wardens to specific areas or groups.
• Multi-floor Tenant: Please designate at least FOUR Floor Wardens; 2 primary and 2 backups, it is advisable to divide up your space by floor and assign Floor Wardens to specific areas or groups

General Guidelines for each role are below, this should not be considered an exhaustive list; each tenant will need to define the needs of their suite.

• Area Evacuation Director – Responsible for controlling staff in event of emergency and explaining/overseeing all emergency actions. Each tenant should designate an Alternate Floor Warden in case the Floor Warden is out of the office when an emergency occurs.
• Floor/Tenant Warden – At direction of Area Evacuation Director, leads employees to exit stairwells and monitors the safe and efficient evacuation via stairwells. Assists any handicapped individuals to the stairwell during an emergency and/or building evacuation.

The Area Evacuation Director should organize the floor response team. Each member of the building’s Floor Response Team has an extremely important job to perform in the event of an emergency. Each Floor Response Team designee should become familiar with the following duties.

Duties

• Become familiar with your floor layout, current employee roster, number of occupants in your suite, emergency exit locations, fire extinguishers
• Update your current list of Floor/Tenant Wardens, Assistant Floor/Tenant Wardens, Searchers, Disabled Person Aides, etc.
• Appoint and train Floor/Tenant Wardens on their duties and assignments.
• Become familiar with the Emergency Procedures for Vantage South End and train team members/alternate team members
• Maintain current employee rosters and emergency contact information for building management and security
• When Building Evacuation Director or Fire Chief cannot be reached for instructions, be ready to make individual decisions for any new situation that has not been covered.

The Floor/Tenant Warden should organize the Tenant Emergency Response Team. Each member of the building’s Tenant Emergency Response Team has an extremely important job to perform in the event of an emergency. Each Tenant Emergency Response Team designee should become familiar with the following duties.

Duties

• Report to the nearest stairway on your assigned floor when the fire alert occurs, evacuation is eminent, or when instructed by the Area Evacuation Director.
• Search assigned areas (including restrooms) and direct all individuals in your suite to the emergency exits
• Ensure emergency exits are safe and clear of debris
• Direct individuals away from elevators and to stairwells
• Ensure assistance monitors (Searchers, Disabled Person Aides) are assigned to those needing special assistance to evacuate
• Supervise the orderly egress of all occupants of the floor. Specify their destination. Instruct all persons to walk, not run, and be quiet and calm. Be alert to prevent crowding, running or panic. Ask all persons to stay to the right in the stairwells while moving down.

1. Advise others and move everyone away from the fire
2. Confine the fire if able by closing all doors in the area
3. Notify the Fire Department (911) and provide the following information:
   • Vantage South End Building
     • East Tower: 1120 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28203
     • West Tower: 1415 Vantage Park Dr, Charlotte, NC 28203
     • Parking Deck: 1220 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28203
   • East Tower, West Tower, Parking Deck at Vantage South End
   • Suite Number or Exact Location of Fire
   • Your call back number

Note: Do not hang up until the Emergency Operator does so.

1. Notify the Management Office.
2. Attempt to extinguish the fire only under the following conditions:
   • If the fire is small and can easily be extinguished.
   • You are familiar with the operation of an extinguisher, and it can be done safely.
   • You have someone with you.
   • You have your back facing an exit.
3. Proceed to the nearest exit to evacuate. Exit via stairwells; do not use the elevators.
4. Once outside the building, move to a designated assembly area away from the building and Fire Department operations.

Note: Fires need fuel, heat and oxygen to survive. You can reduce or extinguish fire by removing any one of these elements.

If you are in your suite, smoke or heat is evident in the corridor, and you are not able to exit, proceed as follows:

1. Call 911 and provide the following information:
   • Vantage South End Building
   • East Tower, West Tower, Parking Deck at Vantage South End
     • East Tower: 1120 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28203
     • West Tower: 1415 Vantage Park Dr, Charlotte, NC 28203
     • Parking Deck: 1220 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28203
   • Suite Number or Exact Location of Fire
   • Your call back number

Note: Do not hang up until the Emergency Operator does so.

1. Call the Management Office
2. Feel the door. If it is hot or warm, do not open it!
3. Close as many doors as possible between you and the fire.
4. If smoke enters your suite from beneath the door, seal the area with a fire blanket, wet towel, or other misted material.
5. If your telephone stops working, display brightly colored material from the window. Wave it to make it more visible to rescuers.
6. Do not jump!

1. Post Emergency Phone Numbers for all employees.
2. Make sure all employees are aware of the location of fire extinguishers and are familiar with how an extinguisher operates.
3. In a fire or other emergency, follow the instruction of your designated Floor/Tenant Warden and other Emergency Personnel.
4. Never use the elevators unless instructed to do so.
5. If you encounter smoke, get down on your hands and knees. Air is cleaner and cooler near the floor. Crawl to the nearest stairwell and exit
   if it is safe to do so.
6. Most fire-related deaths are the result of smoke inhalation and panic. Panic can be avoided by being well prepared for an emergency. Learn all the emergency procedures as if they were second nature.

1. Replace any electrical cord that has cracked insulation or a broken connector.
2. Do not pinch electrical cords under or behind furniture.
3. Do not run electrical extension cords under chair mats or across doorways where they can be stepped on or chaffed.
4. Leave space for air to circulate around heat-producing equipment such as copiers and computer terminals.
5. Turn off or unplug all appliances, including coffee makers, at the end of each workday.
6. Keep exits, storage areas and stairways free from wastepaper, empty boxes, dirty rags and other fire hazards.
7. Know the locations of fire extinguishers in the building and your work area.
8. Remove trash on a regular basis.
9. Close all doors after working hours.
10. Discard all flammable liquids.
11. Observe the building’s NO SMOKING policies. Never throw matches or cigarette butts into waste containers (inside or outside of building).

All extinguishers in the building may be used on fires originating from wood, paper, plastic, grease, oil and electricity.
Operating A Fire Extinguisher:

• To open the cabinet, pull on the handle.
• Remember the “P-A-S-S” method for effective fire extinguisher use:
• P – Pull the safety pin. This is usually the pin with a string attached.
• A – Aim the hose, nozzle, or horn at the base of the fire.
• S – Squeeze the trigger handle
• S – Sweep from side to side and watch for the re-flash of the fire.

Note: always maintain a three-foot clearance area around fire equipment. once the equipment has been used, do not try to re-hang it, even for a few seconds. Used extinguishers should be serviced immediately!

• Do not accumulate quantities of discarded files or other paper trash in your office or storage area. Pay special attention to housekeeping in those departments that produce quantities of debris, such as duplication machines, mailing and receiving rooms.
• Do not store large quantities of flammable solvents, duplicating fluids, or other combustible fluids.
• Keep electrical appliances in good repair. Report unsafe conditions to the building office.
• When furnishing an office, consider the fire potential of materials used in large amounts, like overstuffed chairs, settees, couches or anything that could become a combustible item. Such furnishings should be flame-proofed.
• Where potential for fire is especially high, such as supply rooms, tenants may wish to consider installing additional fire extinguishers.

If you discover a fire, you should remain calm and:

• Pull the nearest fire alarm. Alarms are located in the corridors adjacent to the stairwells.
• Call 911 from a safe location.
• Evacuate or relocate and assist all others in the immediate area.
• Close doors behind you to isolate fire.
• Proceed to stairwells and listen for instructions. Never use the elevators.
• Be cautious when opening doors so as not to spread the fire.
• Touch any door to see if it is hot before opening.
• If smoke is present, stay low and crawl with your body against the floor. The clearest air is near the floor. If forced to make a dash through smoke or flame, hold your breath and cover your nose and mouth with an article of clothing.