How are emergency instructions tailored to the actual emergency event and communicated to the building occupants?
High-rise building fire alarm systems are required to have emergency voice communication capability. Trained emergency personnel assess the emergency and can then broadcast a variety of specific messages to the occupants. The occupants believed to be in the greatest potential danger are instructed to use the exit stairs to begin their descent. Occupants of other floors might be instructed to stay where they are and await further instruction. In these cases, only occupants on the fire floor and the floors immediately above and below typically receive the message. Should the scale of the emergency increase, the announcements can be expanded to include additional floors, or if need be, the entire building.
