Fire Drills At The Church of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Fire Drills were conducted on the 14^th, 20^th and 21^st of June 2026 for the parishioners of The Church of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary (NBVM) in Butterworth.

The objective was to enable the parishioners of NBVM to respond and to evacuate from the church building immediately in the event of an emergency, for example, an outbreak of fire during the celebration of The Holy Mass.

The fire drills for the English and Mandarin Masses were conducted on Sunday, 14^th June 2026 at about 10:10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. respectively. Another fire drill for the English Mass was conducted on Saturday, 20^th June 2026 at about 1:10 p.m. As for the Tamil Mass, the fire drill was conducted at about 8:20 a.m.

Announcements were made towards the end of The Mass so that the congregation will be aware of what to do when the emergency alarm/siren is sounded.

“When the emergency alarm/siren sounds, the following is the procedure for evacuation from the church building :-

1. Proceed to the nearest Emergency Exit as indicated by the “KELUAR” sign ;
2. Follow instructions from the Hospitality Ministers;
3. Give priority to the elderly, children, specially-abled/handicapped;
4. Do not run but walk in an orderly manner;
5. Do not drive your car out of the church premises;
6. Proceed to the Safe Assembly Area/Point which is located on the left-hand side of The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima; and
7. Ensure that members of your family, friends and visitors are present.”

A safety briefing was given by the Safety Ministry Chairman to all who gathered at The Safety Assembly Area/Point.

The average time taken for the fire drills was about five minutes. In conclusion, it was apparent that the parishioners were excited as it was the first time that fire drills were conducted for NBVM. (PL)