Toolbox Talk · Emergency Response · English
Migna Safety Solutions
Evacuation and the Headcount
About 8 minutes to deliver · 29 CFR 1910.38 · 29 CFR 1910.165 · 29 CFR 1926.35
1910.38 requires an emergency action plan, and buried in the middle of it is the requirement people skip: (c)(4), procedures to account for all employees after evacuation.
That is the part that matters most. If nobody can say whether everyone is out, firefighters go back into a burning building to look for somebody who is standing in the car park.
Before anything happens
- Know two ways out from wherever you are working today. The one you came in by may be the one on fire.
- Know where the muster point is — the actual spot, not "out front."
- Know the alarm. 1910.165 requires a distinctive signal for each purpose. A fire alarm and a tornado warning mean opposite things: one says get out, the other says get in and get low.
When it goes off
- Go. Immediately. Not after saving the file, finishing the weld, or waiting to see if it is a drill. The people who die in fires are usually the ones who spent the first two minutes deciding.
- Shut down what would be dangerous left running — only if it is in your written duties and only if it takes seconds. Cylinders closed, torches out, machines stopped.
- Close doors behind you. A closed door buys a corridor several minutes.
- Walk. Do not use lifts.
- Help anyone who needs it. Know before the day comes who on your crew cannot use stairs unaided.
At the muster point
- Report to whoever is counting, and then stay put. Wandering off to find your truck is what turns a clean evacuation into a search.
- Say who is missing and where you last saw them. Not "I think everyone's out."
- Nobody goes back in. Not for tools, not for a phone, not for a dog. That decision belongs to the fire service.
- Wait to be told it is over. An alarm that stops is not an all-clear.
Visitors and subcontractors
They do not know any of this. Whoever signed them in owns getting them out and getting them counted.
Ask the crew
- Where is our muster point, and who does the count?
- What are your two ways out of where you are working today?
- Who on site right now is a visitor or a sub, and who is responsible for them?
This is a toolbox talk, not a course. It is general awareness on one topic — not site-specific, not a hazard assessment, and not a substitute for assessment of your workplace by a competent person, your written programs, or manufacturers’ instructions. It does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. Regulations change; verify against the current standard. Whoever delivers it is responsible for deciding it is suitable and sufficient for the work. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, not a substitute for professional medical care or certified emergency-response training, and it confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. Migna Safety Solutions · training.mignasafetysolutions.com
Attendance Record
Form supplied by Migna Safety Solutions
Evacuation and the Headcount
29 CFR 1910.38 · 29 CFR 1910.165 · 29 CFR 1926.35
I delivered this talk and determined it was suitable for this crew and this work.
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Keep this sheet with your training records. This form is supplied blank by Migna Safety Solutions — we did not deliver this session, were not present, and make no representation about what was said or who attended. A toolbox talk is general awareness on one topic and does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. The employer remains responsible for site-specific hazard assessment and for the training its workers are required to have. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, and confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. training.mignasafetysolutions.com