1 in 4 have no fire safety drill

RSA claims that a quarter of workers have never participated in a full fire evacuation of their workplace, despite government guidelines suggesting full drills be undertaken once a year.

One in 20 UK workers also said their workplace had no marked fire exits at all. And 6% said they would stop to pick up a cup of tea or coffee when the fire alarm sounds before heading out of the building.

The London Fire Brigade says it should take two and a half minutes to empty a building but one in ten workers said they sit at their desks for more than a minute when hearing the alarm go off, regardless of whether they believe there is a real fire or not.

The average time an employee waited before reacting to an alarm was 36 seconds. 42% of people also said they would spend time retrieving personal belongings or work documents before vacating the building.

Fire apathy

David Geer, Global UK Business Director at RSA, said, "Our research revealed a much higher level of apathy about fire safety among workers throughout the country than we had hoped.

“It is crucial in the case of fire safety that companies not only evacuate employees from the workplace quickly and efficiently in an emergency, but also make sure that staff are made acutely aware of fire safety procedures and the location of their nearest fire exit.

"Businesses that do not take fire safety seriously are risking their employees' lives and their livelihoods."