Honeywell Survey Finds Nearly 40 Percent of Visitors to Hospitals, Airports, Office Buildings Lack Awareness of Fire Exits and What to do in Event of Fire

NEW DELHI, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- Nearly 50 Percent of Airport, Shopping Mall, Hotel, Hospital and Office Workers Have Not Participated in Fire Safety Training for Their Facilities 

- More Than One in Four Visitors Ignore Fire Alarms

- Study Indicates Extremely Low Awareness of Procedures and Alarm Systems in These Facilities

Nearly 40 percent of visitors to hospitals, airports, shopping malls and office buildings in major cities in India are unaware of the location of fire exits, and more than one in four do not follow appropriate fire evacuation procedures in the event of an alarm, according to a recent study by Honeywell (NYSE: HON), conducted by Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB).

The study, conducted to raise awareness of the important role that the public plays in fire safety, also showed an overall lack of training or awareness for both workers and visitors in these facilities, with nearly 50 percent of workers saying they have not participated in a fire drill or other safety training exercise. Nearly 80 percent of visitors responded that they were not aware of fire alarm procedures indicating a lack of visible signage and instructions.

Fire safety awareness is a crucial factor in avoiding fire-related incidents, and businesses, workers and visitors to their facilities need to equip themselves with basic safety knowledge, as well as ensure that the systems protecting them are appropriately designed for the risk they are protecting against.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 24,232 deaths in 2010-11, or 6.3% of total deaths in India, were due to fire accidents. "Most injury and fatalities from fire incidents happen due to lack of awareness about what to do in case of a fire alarm as well as lack of preparedness by facility owners," said Mr. D.K. Shami, Dy. Fire Adviser, Directorate General of Civil Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. "As per the Fire Act, we have a legal and moral obligation to employees to secure them against the risk of fire."

In hospitals, nearly 40 percent of employees are unaware of fire evacuation procedures. This presents a serious life-or-death situation because hospital employees are accountable for evacuation of patients and visitors. The situation isn't much better in commercial buildings. Nearly half of the employees working in shopping malls and more than half of office workers were not aware of fire evacuation procedures, signaling a simple opportunity to improve on worker and visitor safety at these facilities. And the situation gets much worse in homes: 85 percent of the respondents said their home residence lacked a fire alarm system or detection device.

"To avoid catastrophic situations due to a fire, employers and building owners need to have appropriate fire alarm systems, and also conduct regular training for employees and have appropriate signage in place for visitors," said Harish Vellat, Regional Director, Honeywell Life Safety (HLS), India. "While almost all of those surveyed said they had fire alarm systems in place, there is a deep lack of awareness of the steps that should be taken if a fire or other critical issue occurs."

As a leading provider of fire systems, Honeywell Life Safety, in consultation with Mr. D K Shami, offers the following tips to help facility owners and individuals know what to do in the event of an emergency:

For facility owners:  

· Create an emergency preparedness plan for your facility and ensure compliance with all fire protection and fire safety requirements;

· Regularly test fire emergency systems;

· Conduct regular training and mock exercises of evacuation with your employees;

· Ensure your emergency exit signage is posted, clearly visible and prepare for visually or hearing-impaired individuals;

· In addition to a basic fire alarm, consider integrating your building's fire, lighting, security, HVAC building controls into a building automation and management system to provide additional levels of safety and security.   

For individuals:  

· Always identify emergency exit signs in your workplace and other locations you visit;

· Always follow evacuation procedures when you hear a fire alarm;

· Have a family evacuation plan at home, and teach your kids to follow fire alarm drills and evacuation procedures at home and school;

· Ask your kids' school authorities to ensure fire safety implementation with appropriate evacuation plan, regular fire safety drills, and installation and maintenance of fire safety equipment.

The growing aspirations of the expanding Indian middle class also mean that people expect fire safety to be available to them as a basic amenity. More than 35 tier 2-4 cities are driving the adoption of fire safety products and improving their fire safety standards. This will spark a trend as India expands its growth across its top 45 cities and towns.

The survey was conducted in May of 2013 of approximately 1,100 people in eight Indian cities, including Dehli, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Indore. Survey respondents included employees and visitors of airports, shopping malls, hotels and corporate office buildings and approximately half were socio economic classification (SEC) A1 and the other half SEC A2.

The research was commissioned by Honeywell Life Safety, one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial fire alarms, detection and evacuation systems, as part of a drive to assess and raise public awareness of fire safety. Some of Honeywell's fire systems products, software and solutions, including Notifier, Morley, Esser, System Sensor and FAAST are used by customers across India, including Delhi Airport Terminal 3, the Kolkata and Mumbai airports, the Delhi and Bangalore metros, Infosys campuses, ITC hotels, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and the Reliance Jamnagar refinery, among others.

About Honeywell India

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company (www.honeywell.com) that develops and manufactures technologies to address some of the world's toughest challenges linked to global macrotrends such as energy efficiency, clean energy generation, safety and security, globalization and customer productivity. Each of the company's four businesses - Aerospace, Automation and Control Solutions, Performance Materials and Technologies, and Transportation Systems - has a significant presence in India. Honeywell's India commitment is evident in five state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering operations for its automation, turbocharger, and refining businesses, and five global centers of excellence for technology development and innovation. Honeywell employs more than 13,000 people across 50 locations including Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon and Madurai. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.  

About Honeywell Life Safety

Honeywell Life Safety (HLS) innovates to protect and save lives worldwide every day. It is a top-performing business in Honeywell and a global leader in many growing industries, including commercial fire systems, smoke and gas detection, personal protective equipment (PPE), and home and hospital patient monitoring. Its quality products, integrated system solutions, and services make life safer, more comfortable, more secure, and more productive in every corner of the world.

Primary Media Contact: Rahul Mishra, [email protected], 91-9899536664