EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS
EVACUATION IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Hein Hemke, Managing Director of BELFOR UK, explains how smart planning drives faster recovery.
When disaster strikes, whether it’s fire, flood or water escape emergencies, the first priority is clear: get everyone out safely. But for businesses, the true challenge begins once the building is empty. How quickly can operations resume? How can assets be protected, stakeholders reassured, momentum maintained?
Emergency evacuation is often seen as a basic compliance task – something required by health and safety law, rarely expected to be used. For many, it’s a protocol often filed away and forgotten. But when disaster does strike, having a clear, well-rehearsed plan can make all the difference between calm and chaos.
The speed and structure of your response in the first 24 to 48 hours can determine whether your business rebounds or falters. It’s the window in which sites must be secured, damage assessed, and restoration initiated. Yet many businesses spend this time searching for help, gathering information, and navigating uncertainty. Every hour lost increases downtime, costs, and reputational risk.
Furthermore, with climate-related events on the rise, from flash floods to extreme heat and storms, the need for robust evacuation and recovery planning has never been greater. These incidents are no longer rare anomalies; they’re becoming part of the operational risk landscape for businesses across the UK.
After ensuring everyone’s safety and contacting emergency services, your next call should be to your disaster recovery partner. They will attend the site as quickly as possible, carry out essential health and safety checks, assess the damage, and begin emergency
mitigation works. When evacuation plans aren’t properly coordinated, recovery is delayed before it’s even begun. While physical damage can’t always be prevented, the operational impact can be.
BELFOR UK’s priority response programme, RED ALERT is designed to close this gap. Tailored exclusively for corporate clients, from SMEs to major corporations, it provides rapid, preferential access to restoration services when disaster strikes. Even in large-scale incidents, it ensures your emergency takes precedence, helping minimise downtime, reduce financial impact, and accelerate recovery. This prioritisation becomes especially critical during widespread natural disasters, when demand for support surges and resources are stretched.
But the service is more than a fast-track to recovery. It’s a partnership built on preparedness. It gives organisations the confidence that, when the unexpected happens, they won’t be starting from scratch. Instead, they’ll be activating a plan that’s already in place, with a trusted partner ready to deliver.
We work with clients to understand their sites, risks, and priorities long before an incident occurs. As part of the programme, we conduct a thorough survey of your facilities, systems, and critical assets to map out a clear path to business recovery. We recommend practical, proven steps to prevent or solve potential issues before they arise. We also create a blueprint of your site, identifying key locations and assets, which we review en route to ensure recovery begins the moment we arrive.
That means when evacuation is triggered, the next steps are already in motion. Leadership can focus on communication physically and operationally and the business can begin to rebuild with confidence.
Emergency preparedness isn’t just about getting out; it’s about getting back. With the right planning and the right support, evacuation becomes the start of recovery, not the end of operations. That’s why evacuation planning should never be treated as a tick-box exercise. It’s a strategic investment in resilience. When done well, it protects not just people, but productivity, reputation, and long-term viability.
www.belfor.com/uk
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