Prevenng and Responding to Acts of Violence and Fires in Schools
The intent of this document is to provide guidance to re code ocials and school district employees whose
responsibilies are to prevent, prepare for, and respond to all types of emergencies in schools. Though not
to be construed as an all-inclusive list for educaonal occupancies, the relevant requirements listed below
provide guidance on overall building safety as required by the S.C. Code of Laws and S.C. Code of
Regulaons. The best response begins with eecve planning.
Emergency Planning and Preparedness
The following requirements of the S.C. Fire Code describe what must be included in emergency plans.
Lockdown Plans:
• § 404.2.3.1 Lockdown plan contents. Lockdown plans shall be approved by the re code ocial
and shall include the following:
1. Iniaon. The plan shall include instrucons for reporng an emergency that requires a
lockdown.
2. Accountability. The plan shall include accountability procedures for sta to report the
presence or absence of occupants.
3. Recall. The plan shall include a prearranged signal for returning to normal acvity.
4. Communicaon and coordinaon. The plan shall include an approved means of
two-way communicaon between a central locaon and each secured area.
• § 404.2.3.2 Training frequency. The training frequency shall be included in the lockdown plan. The
lockdown drills shall not substute for any of the re and evacuaon drills required in Secon
405.2.
• § 404.2.3.3 Lockdown nocaon. The method of nofying building occupants of a lockdown
shall be included in the plan. The method of nocaon shall be separate and disnct from the
re alarm signal.
• § 406.4 Emergency lockdown training. Where a facility has a lockdown plan, employees shall be
trained on their assigned dues and procedures in the event of an emergency lockdown.
• § 406.2 Frequency. Employees shall receive training in the contents of re safety and evacuaon
plans and their dues as part of new employee orientaon and not less than annually thereaer.
Records of training shall be maintained.
Fire Evacuaon Drills:
• § 405.2 Requires monthly re and evacuaon drills be conducted for all occupants of a Group E
(Educaonal) occupancy.
• § 403.5.1 First emergency evacuaon drill. The rst emergency evacuaon drill of each school year
shall be conducted within 10 days of the beginning of classes.
• § 403.5.2 Time of day. Emergency evacuaon drills shall be conducted at dierent hours of the day
or evening, during the changing of classes, when the school is at assembly, during the recess or
gymnasc periods, or during other mes to avoid disncon between drills and actual res.
South Carolina Oce of State Fire Marshal
s o u t h c a r o l i n a s t a t e f i r e
141 Monticello Trail • Columbia, SC 29203 • 803-896-9800 • www.statere.llr.sc.gov
• § 403.5.3 Assembly points. Outdoor assembly areas shall be designated and shall be located a safe
distance from the building being evacuated so as to avoid interference with re department
operaons. The assembly areas shall be arranged to keep each class separate to provide
accountability of all individuals.
• § 406.3.2 Evacuaon training. Employees shall be familiarized with the re alarm and evacuaon
signals, their assigned dues in the event of an alarm or emergency, evacuaon routes, areas of
refuge, exterior assembly areas and procedures for evacuaon.
• § 401.3.3 Delayed nocaon. A person shall not, by verbal or wrien direcve, require any delay in
the reporng of a re to the re department.
Addionally, the following State law requires re drills in schools:
• 59-63-910 Fire Drills in Schools. All teachers or superintendents in charge of the schools of the State
which are supported in whole or in part by taxaon shall conduct re drills at least once each month.
Any teacher or superintendent failing to observe the provisions of this secon shall be ned not less
than ten dollars nor more than twenty-ve dollars for each oense. Such ne shall be deducted from
his salary and turned over to the county treasurer for ordinary county purposes.
Praccing re drills is essenal in eecve response to re alarms during a real life emergency. Drills should
be scheduled by school administraon. However, the exact date and me of the drill should remain a secret
unl the moment before the drill is to occur. Announcing a re drill schedule months in advance will allow
for the potenal for the scheduled drill to be used to do harm. Instead, school administraon should keep
drills scheduled for random mes, and make a “this is a drill” announcement to school occupants only mo-
ments before the drill is to be conducted.
To check for hazards, classroom teachers should be the rst to enter a hallway. These hazards may include
smoke or re, or it may be a school intruder intending to do harm. Classroom teachers should be prepared
to make decisions based on situaonal awareness. The following quesons are just as important during a
school re as they are in the event of an intruder: Do we leave? Or, do we stay and shelter in place in the
classroom? If we cannot escape, what is Plan B? Are there windows or an alternave escape route? Do I
have a way to let ocials know if we cannot escape?
Fire Alarms
Fire Alarms have long been a staple of re safety in public buildings. They provide early detecon of a
potenal re as well as nocaon to building occupants of the need to evacuate from potenal harm.
While the re alarm may be used by a school intruder to inict harm on persons as a part of a mass casualty
incident, removing re alarms or altering how we respond to re alarms in buildings is not the best soluon.
Delayed evacuaon or sheltering in place may have deadly consequences in the event of a rapidly growing
re.
Addionally, the public may grow complacent and become confused when a re alarm sounds in other
buildings or at home. If the public is condioned to ignore a re alarm signal unl told to evacuate by
someone in authority, then there is no advantage in having early detecon and nocaon of the re alarm.
Removing re alarms from public buildings ignores the countless numbers of lives saved from res by this
eecve and reliable technology.
South Carolina Oce of State Fire Marshal
s o u t h c a r o l i n a s t a t e f i r e
141 Monticello Trail • Columbia, SC 29203 • 803-896-9800 • www.statere.llr.sc.gov
Instead, school sta must be aware any re alarm acvaon (every me it sounds) has the potenal to be
the result of a catastrophic event. The school could be on re and the sta person must know how to react
if he or she encounters smoke or ames in the egress path. There could be an intenonal act to cause harm
and the sta person must know how to react when he or she encounters an intruder in the egress path.
Prevenon is the best answer in these cases. When prevenon fails, having plans and situaonal awareness
will be the best way to survive.
The code allows for some opons for alternate methods to iniate and aect an evacuaon. However, these
alternate methods require the evaluaon of the facility by a design professional and approval of the re code
ocial and, in some cases, the local re department.
Some excepons for re alarms include:
• § 907.2.3 Group E. Excepon 3. Manual re alarm boxes are not required in Group E occupancies
where all of the following apply:
3.1. Interior corridors are protected by smoke detectors.
3.2. Auditoriums, cafeterias, gymnasiums and similar areas are protected by heat detectors
or other approved detecon devices.
3.3. Shops and laboratories involving dusts or vapors are protected by heat detectors or
other approved detecon devices.
• § 907.2.3 Group E. Excepon 4. Manual re alarm boxes shall not be required in Group E
occupancies where all of the following apply:
4.1. The building is equipped throughout with an approved automac sprinkler system
installed in accordance with Secon 903.3.1.1.
4.2. The emergency voice/alarm communicaon system will acvate on sprinkler water ow.
4.3. Manual acvaon is provided from a normally occupied locaon.
Classroom and Egress Doors
Classroom and egress doors shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 10, of the 2015 IFC, as
applicable. Specically, this requires all egress doors be readily openable from the egress side with a single
operaon, and without the use of a key, special knowledge, or eort. The use of classroom door security and
barricade devices do not comply with this requirement and are prohibited.
• § 1031.2.1 Security devices and egress locks. Security devices aecng means of egress shall be
subject to approval of the re code ocial. Security devices and locking arrangements in the means
of egress that restrict, control, or delay egress shall be installed and maintained as required by this
chapter.
• § 1010.1.9 Door operaons. Except as specically permied by Secon 1010.1.9, egress doors shall
be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key or special knowledge or eort.
• § 1010.1.9.4 Bolt locks. Manually operated ush bolts or surface bolts are not permied.
• § 1010.1.9.5 Unlatching. Except as specically permied by Secon 1010.1.9, the unlatching of any
door or leaf shall not require more than one operaon.
• § 703.2 Opening protecves. Opening protecves shall be maintained in an operave condion in
accordance with NFPA 80. Fire doors and smoke barrier doors shall not be blocked or obstructed, or
otherwise made inoperable.
South Carolina Oce of State Fire Marshal
s o u t h c a r o l i n a s t a t e f i r e
141 Monticello Trail • Columbia, SC 29203 • 803-896-9800 • www.statere.llr.sc.gov
The use of a barricade device is not proven to provide any added benet. Instead, it creates a more
dangerous situaon for classroom occupants. The use of magnets to prevent doors from latching is an issue
of convenience rather than security. Neither device is compliant with any of the applicable re or building
codes. The best policy is to ensure classroom doors are provided with single acon locks and to keep the
doors closed and locked at all mes during school operaon. Doors may prevent entering anyme; however,
they cannot restrict exing.
Fire Apparatus Access Roads
Schools are required to maintain access for emergency vehicles to all sides of the buildings at all mes.
Obstrucons may cause delays in needed assistance.
• § 503.4 Obstrucon of re apparatus access roads. Fire apparatus access roads shall not be
obstructed in any manner, including the parking of vehicles. The minimum widths and clearances
established in Secons 503.2.1 and 503.2.2 shall be maintained at all mes (minimum 20’ wide and
13’6” overhead clearance).
Prevenon is the best defense. Emergency planning and preparedness are crucial for successful miga-
on when prevenon fails to provide the answer. Prevenon, planning, and preparedness have worked for
decades to prevent res in schools from becoming catastrophic. If everyone applies the same principles to
prevenng and responding to intruders, it will make an immeasurable dierence.
For more informaon on code compliance and re and life safety in buildings, please contact SC State Fire,
Oce of State Fire Marshal.
South Carolina Oce of State Fire Marshal
s o u t h c a r o l i n a s t a t e f i r e
141 Monticello Trail • Columbia, SC 29203 • 803-896-9800 • www.statere.llr.sc.gov
