What should be included in accountability during an egress drill?

• A. A report of only the fastest evacuations
• B. No accountability is needed
• C. Only the safety officer is accounted for
• D. A process to account for all personnel, confirm evacuations, and identify missing persons

Answer: (D)

During an egress drill, the key is having a reliable way to track everyone as they move to safety. The right approach establishes a process to account for all personnel, confirm evacuations, and quickly identify anyone who is missing. This usually involves a muster point, roll calls or sign-in/out, buddy checks, and coordination with supervisors to compare who is present with who was expected, including staff, contractors, and visitors. If someone isn’t accounted for, responders can begin a targeted search and communicate needs to incident command right away. Focusing only on the fastest evacuations misses the important step of ensuring everyone is out or located, while no accountability or limiting accountability to just one person defeats the purpose of the drill.