Emergency Procedures

If a fire alarm is triggered, you will hear an alarm and see flashing light from the fire sensors on the ceiling. In 30 seconds, the halon extinguisher will be triggered and released 10 seconds later to protect books and documents. It will not harm you – it does not remove all oxygen from the air – but ideally everyone will exit the area before it is released.

In the front rooms:

1) Move quickly and calmly towards the entrance of Special Collections. Turn right in the hall and move to the Exit Door.

2) Push the panic bar and wait 15 seconds. Then push again, watch the step down, and exit the library.

3) Gather on the quadrangle in front of the library so everyone can be counted.

In the stacks:

1) Push the panic bar on the double doors leading to the stairwell, wait 15 seconds, then go on through.

2) Proceed straight through the black double doors into the hallway.

3) Turn right and go to the exit door. Again, push the panic bar, watch your step, and exit the library.

4) Gather on the quadrangle in front of the library so everyone can be counted.

Halon is a fire suppression system that works without the use of ingredients that could damage important assets (such as the rare books and documents in Special Collections and Archives). In the event of a fire in the department, the Halon alarm will also go off before discharging gas to suppress the fire. If this should happen, evacuate the building immediately and meet on the quad in front of the library.

Halon systems can be triggered without a fire in the same way a fire alarm can be pulled. If the Halon alarm sounds when there is no fire, you should evacuate the department and do not return until Public Safety or the Fire Department has deemed it safe. While Halon gas is not immediately harmful, it reduces oxygen in the room and can be lethal if a person is exposed for more than one minute.