Facility Emergency & Evacuation: the full procedure

Maintain a fire and disaster plan that accounts for every animal on-site, with crates, leashes, routes, a relocation site, owner contacts, and a reunification process.

• Applies to: Facility owner, manager & all staff.
• Frequency: Plan reviewed regularly; drills per local requirements; activated during any emergency.
• Scope: Defines the operational fire/disaster evacuation and reunification process. Required plan format, drills, and inspections defer to state/local fire & emergency authorities, kennel licensing, and the facility’s health & safety plan.

What you need

• Posted evacuation routes & exit map
• Crates / carriers & leashes staged near exits
• Current animal roster
• Owner & emergency contact list
• Relocation-site agreement

The procedure, step by step

1. Know the plan & routes — Every staff member knows the posted evacuation routes, exits, alarm/extinguisher locations, and their assigned role.
2. Keep equipment staged — Stage enough crates, carriers, and leashes near exits so every animal on-site can be moved quickly.
3. Maintain a live roster — Keep a current count and list of every animal in the building so evacuation accounts for each one.
4. Evacuate people first, then animals safely — On alarm, get people out and call emergency services, then evacuate animals along planned routes only if it is safe to do so.
5. Account for every animal — Use the roster at the assembly/relocation point to confirm each animal is out and accounted for.
6. Move to the relocation site — Transport animals to the pre-arranged relocation site with their leashes, crates, and identification.
7. Notify owners & authorities — Contact emergency authorities as needed and reach every pet’s owner/emergency contact from the file.
8. Reunite & document — Reunite animals with owners using identification and records, and document the incident and any follow-up.

Quality check before you finish

• Evacuation routes and exit map posted and current.
• Crates and leashes staged for the full capacity on-site.
• Live animal roster kept current each shift.
• Relocation site pre-arranged and agreement on file.
• Emergency contact on file for every pet.
• Drills conducted per local fire/emergency requirements.
• All animals accounted for against the roster after evacuation.

This is a free, source-anchored standard operating procedure (SOP) you can print and hand to staff. It documents the work sequence for a Pet Boarding & Daycare business — not safety or regulatory rulings, which defer to the cited authorities, the applicable code, and your own health-and-safety plan. Open the tool above to print it, toggle ink-saver, or (with a free ToolFluency Business account) edit it to match your own workflow.

Sources

• AVMA — Evacuation & Relocation Planning (avma.org)
• AVMA — Facility Emergency Planning (maps/triage/training) (avma.org)
• ASPCApro / FEMA-Aligned Shelter Guidance — Reunification (aspcapro.org)