Fire, Evacuation
Find out how to react in the event of an evacuation here. In the event of fire or smoke, please immediately alert the internal emergency number 888, or +41 44 342 11 88 if you are calling from a mobile phone.
Voice alarm systems
At ETH, voice alarm systems are installed where required by law or deemed useful. These are triggered automatically in the event of an evacuation.
Emergency number
ETH members have the option of storing an emergency number (private mobile number) in the address database in order to be notified directly in the event of an alarm - www.adressen.ethz.ch
Landline or softphone call
Employees with a registered workstation in the affected building receive a phone call.
Evacuation support
Monday to Friday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., the fire alarm team, the security service and the on-call staff of Facility Services provide support in the event of an evacuation. They explicitly check larger rooms such as lecture halls and seminar rooms for persons present and instruct them to leave the building.
On weekends and between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., the security service and the on-call staff of Facility Services provide support.
E-mail
NOTE: Students, regardless of their location, will receive an email indicating the building involved.
Inform others.
Help people with mobility impairments (e.g. wheelchair, pregnant women) and disabilities (hearing or sight). If you know of colleagues who are for example experiencing anxiety, help them as well.
Please follow the instructions of the emergency services, the fire alarm team and the SSHE staff.
Take your personal belongings with you (coat, bag, keys, cell phone, etc.). Lock your computer.
Leave the building calmly.
Pass on information about the location of persons in the building (e.g. persons with limited mobility, visually impaired persons, injured persons) or about ongoing safety-relevant experiments, etc. to the ETH intervention units or to the fire and police emergency services.
Go to the Download assembly point (PDF, 2.1 MB).
If no assembly point has been defined for your building, stay at a safe distance from the building.
Wait for further information.
A possible return to the building will be communicated on the same channels as the evacuation request.
On sites or in buildings where ETH is a tenant, the relevant behavioural instructions of the site or building operator normally apply.
Where do I go to get help?
Signalised waiting area
Protected waiting area in the building if you are unable to leave a building immediately for mobility reasons, e.g. in the event of an evacuation. It is usually located in or near staircases. The information board is supplemented with your location and the telephone number of the ETH Emergency Desk so that you can call for help.
Waiting zones are not yet designated in all buildings. They will be implemented as part of the new signaling concepts in the buildings.
A assembly point has been defined for the following areas:
From Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., members of the ETH fire alarm team supervise the assembly points. Outside the operating hours, support at the assembly point cannot be guaranteed. A possible return to the building will be communicated on the same channels as the evacuation request.
Evacuation FAQ
You can request a second office address at www.adressen.ethz.ch. This way you will receive notification of alarms from both buildings.
Fire Alarm Team FAQ
The Fire Alarm Team is on the job during building opening hours. It is made up of various different groups of people, primarily staff members of the building areas. The Fire Alarm Team is not a works fire brigade ? they enact their role as first responders according to the best-effort-principle.
The following groups of people can join:
- Staff members from Facility Management*
- Staff members from institutions/workshops*
*workload of at least 80%
Even a small fire can generate a great deal of smoke. The presence of the Fire Alarm Team on site means that it can react quickly to such incidents and prevent further harm. Its main duties are:
- First response in the event of fire
- Evacuation support
- Acting as an interface between ETH Zurich and emergency services
The training duration, including evacuation drills, is about 1.5 days per year. The training objectives are practical exercises, broad knowledge transfer in the area of fire protection and safety. The training covers the following subjects, among others:
- Instruction on using the fire-alarm system
- Behaviour in the event of fire
- Practical drills with the extinguishing agents commonly used at ETH Zurich
- Instruction on evacuation
- Instruction on radio communication
- Fire protection systems and their operation
- Identifying risks (laboratories, workshops, etc.)
For more information ask us directly.