Faith community preparedness ยท Facility assessment
Assess a Building as a Community Support Site
A useful room is not automatically a safe service site.
Before a house of worship offers its hall to the neighborhood, someone has to check that the room can do the job on a bad day. This guide walks one service through one building. It covers who has to approve it, the path a guest takes, the systems that must keep working, how many people the room can really serve, and how to write the answer down.
General U.S. guidance. This is not a code inspection. Get local fire, building, accessibility, public-health, insurer and operating-partner review for the proposed use.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
The five-minute answer
Assess a service, not a building.
"Is our building suitable?" has no answer. A hall that works well for an information table can fail as a charging room because of its wiring. It can fail as a meal site because of its kitchen, and as an overnight shelter for a dozen reasons.
So ask a narrower question: can this room safely host this service, for this many people, during the kind of disruption we expect? Then walk the building with that one question.
There are four possible verdicts, and the last one is as useful as the first. Knowing in March that the fellowship hall cannot be a warming room saves you from finding out in January.
Realistic effort: one two-hour walk with the person who maintains the building, a second visit after dark, and a call each to the fire marshal's office and your insurer.
Ready for limited use
The service can open within a written capacity and written controls.
Example: an information and charging table for 25 people while building power is on.
Ready with corrections
Named fixes or partner resources come first, each with an owner and a date.
Example: a cooling room once the side entrance has a ramp and the thermostat is repaired.
Partner-operated only
You can host, but a qualified organization has to run the service.
Example: meals served by a permitted feeding partner using your hall.
Not suitable
The room or the service cannot be made safe and usable for the conditions.
Example: any public use of a basement room reached only by stairs.
Begin with authority
Know who controls the property and the new use.
Opening a building to the public for a new purpose is a decision several people share. The clergy leader, the trustees or property committee, the denomination and the insurer may each hold a part of it. Find out before you buy supplies or announce anything. If your congregation rents or shares its space, the owner's written permission comes first.
The federal planning guide for houses of worship asks that the plan name who has authority to activate it.[1] It also asks that the plan be shared with local emergency management and with any organization that uses your building.[1] A preschool, a scout troop or a second congregation renting space is part of this decision too.
The sequence, start to finish
Name the exact service
One service, one room, stated hours and an expected number of people. Assess that, not the building in general.
Confirm who can say yes
The property owner, the governing body and the insurer each approve the new use, and one person can open and close.
Walk the path in bad conditions
From the road to the room to the toilet to the exit, in the dark, the wet and the outage you are planning for.
Check the systems that must keep working
Exits and alarms, power, water and toilets, heating or cooling, and a way to call for help.
Set a capacity and write the verdict
Ready, ready with named corrections, partner-operated only, or not suitable. Sign and date it.
Inside the institution
- who may open the building after hours
- who approves a new public use
- who can spend money and how much
- which rooms stay closed to the public
- who can order the service closed
Local officials
- the fire marshal or fire department, on occupancy and exits for this use
- the building department, if anything is being altered
- the health department, if food or water is served
- emergency management, so the site is known and listed
The insurer
Tell your agent the exact service, the hours and who will staff it, and ask for the answer in writing. Ask specifically about volunteers, overnight use, food and anyone else operating in your building.
A script that works: "We are considering opening our fellowship hall as a daytime warming room for up to 25 people, staffed by our volunteers. Does our policy cover that, and can you confirm it in writing?"
FEMA's questions
FEMA's self-assessment for faith organizations asks how the organization is equipped to provide its services, whether applicable licenses, credentials or inspections are valid, and whether it has a current inventory of facilities, equipment and supplies.[10] An emergency manager deciding whether to list your site will ask the same.
The service path
Walk from the road to the exit in the conditions you expect.
The federal planning guide describes a site assessment as a review of building access, visibility around the outside of the buildings, structural soundness, accessibility for people with disabilities, and emergency vehicle access.[1] The practical way to do that is to follow the path a guest would take, and then to follow it again when conditions are bad.
Open this sectionClose this section: The service path
Approach
Is the road likely to be open in the event you are planning for? Is there a drop-off point, parking, a bus stop within reach? Is the route from the car to the door lit, level and clear of snow, water and debris? Can an ambulance or fire engine reach the entrance?
Entry
Which entrance has no steps, and does the sign say so? Does the door open without a key card or a power-assisted opener? Where do people wait out of the weather? Where is check-in, and can staff there see the door?
Service
Where do people sit, move, charge a phone, eat, talk privately? Where do supplies, coats and trash go? Where do volunteers rest? What is the noise like when the room is full?
Exit
Where are the toilets, and is the route to them step-free? Are there two ways out of the room? Where do people wait for a ride? Who checks the building is empty at closing?
The accessibility screen
The Department of Justice's quick check for older buildings asks three things first. Is there an entrance without steps, connected by a sidewalk to parking and drop-off? Is there a step-free route from that entrance to every area where the service happens? Can a person using a wheelchair turn around inside the toilet room?[3]
Its list of areas to survey runs from parking and the exterior route through the entrance, the service areas and the toilets to the emergency exit.[4] If most answers are no, pick another room or fix those first. The accessibility guide covers the full check.
Fire and life safety
Two ways out of every room, and doors that open from inside.
The U.S. Fire Administration reports an average of 1,300 fires a year in places of worship from 2020 to 2022. The leading cause was cooking, at 33 percent.[2] A building that is suddenly full of guests, slow cookers, space heaters and phone chargers has more of every fire cause than it does on a normal weekday.
Open this sectionClose this section: Fire and life safety
Call your fire department before you plan a public service and ask for a walk-through. The Fire Administration encourages fire departments to make fire safety visits to houses of worship, and lists what to inspect for.[2]
Inviting the fire department in can feel like asking for trouble. It is easier to hear about a blocked exit from them now, on your schedule, than on the day the room is full. One way to ask: "We are thinking of opening our hall as a daytime warming room for about 25 people. Could someone walk it with us and tell us what to fix first?"
Ask one more question while they are there: what is the approved occupancy of this room for this use? That number is theirs to give. Do not estimate it.
What the fire service inspects for
From the U.S. Fire Administration's list[2]
- two ways out of every room, including the kitchen and study rooms
- a posted, visible fire escape plan
- smoke alarms in the right places, including alert devices for people who are hard of hearing
- cracked or damaged electrical cords, and overloaded extension cords or wall outlets
- deadbolt locks that everyone, including children and people with disabilities, can open from the inside without a key
Before each opening
- no exit door locked, and each one opening fully
- exit routes clear of chairs, boxes and cords, inside and out
- exit signs and emergency lights working
- fire extinguishers in place and in date
- the alarm panel showing normal
- the first aid kit stocked and in a marked place the shift lead can name
- candles replaced by flameless ones in any room guests use
This opening check is our own. Confirm it with your fire department. The last line follows the Fire Administration's suggestion to consider candle alternatives such as flameless candles.[2]
Sprinklers and alarms
The Fire Administration calls the installation and maintenance of fire sprinklers the most effective measure for reducing loss of life and property, and separately advises installing smoke alarms.[2] If your building has neither in the rooms you plan to use, tell the fire department that when you ask about occupancy. It will affect their answer, and it should affect yours about any overnight use.
Power
Find out what still works when the power goes out.
Many of the events that would bring people to your door also cut the power. Walk the building with the main breaker in mind and list what stops. Check the lights, heating and cooling fans, well pump, sewage lift pump, refrigerators, phone system, internet, automatic doors, elevator, and the alarm panel once its battery runs down.
Open this sectionClose this section: Power
If the service you are assessing depends on anything on that list, it is a service you can offer only while the power is on, unless you have tested backup power for it. Say so in the verdict.
Wiring and outlets
Have an electrician tell you which circuits serve the room and what they can carry. A hall with many outlets may still have them all on one circuit.
CPSC's guidance on cords applies to any room full of chargers and heaters. Use only products marked by an independent testing lab, do not overload a cord, never run a cord under a rug, and treat extension cords as temporary.[7]
Generator boundary
The Consumer Product Safety Commission's guidance for portable generators: never run one inside a home or garage, even with doors and windows open. Use it outside only, at least 20 feet away, with the exhaust facing away.[5] Ready.gov says generators and fuel should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and attached garages. It adds to keep the generator dry and protected from rain or flooding, and to let it cool before refueling.[6]
Both agencies wrote that guidance for homes. We treat it as the minimum for any building people are in. Mark the spot on your site plan now, and check that it is 20 feet from every door, window and air intake, on your building and your neighbor's.
If you have or want backup power
FEMA's self-assessment asks two questions: are key facilities equipped with generators, and how many hours of fuel are available on site?[10] Add four of your own. What exactly does it run? Who is trained to start it? When was it last run under load? Who wired the connection?
OSHA says never to attach a generator directly to the electrical system of a structure unless a qualified electrician has properly installed the generator with a transfer switch.[11] A generator without a tested plan is a purchase, not a capability. Our generator guide explains the choices.
Water, toilets and air
A room without working toilets is not a service site.
Toilets are as likely to set your limit as floor space is. Count the toilets that will work in the conditions you are planning for, including the accessible one, and remember that a building on a well or a sewage pump loses both with the power.
Open this sectionClose this section: Water, toilets and air
Water
If the tap water is under a notice or you suspect it is unsafe, CDC says not to use it to drink, wash hands, wash dishes, prepare food or make ice.[8] Decide now how much bottled water you would need to stay open, and where it is stored.
Toilets and handwashing
Working toilets for the capacity you set, soap and paper towels, a plan for cleaning during the shift, and trash removal. FEMA's shelter definition notes that a site with enough floor space may still need extra toilets and hand-washing stations brought in.[9]
Carbon monoxide
CPSC advises carbon monoxide alarms with battery power or battery backup on every level of a home.[5] We would hold a public room to at least that, with an alarm in any room guests use and near any fuel-burning furnace, boiler or water heater.
If an alarm sounds, treat it as suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. CPSC's instruction for that is to get outside to fresh air immediately, then call 911.[5]
Heat, cooling and smoke
Can the room hold a safe temperature for a full shift, and how would you know? Put a thermometer in it. Check for damp, mold and how the room behaves when doors are opening constantly.
The measurements each service needs are in the support sites guide.
Communications
Stand in the service room and check that a mobile phone can reach 911 from there. Find the nearest landline. Decide how you would make an announcement to the whole room, heard and seen, and how the shift lead would reach the decision-maker if the cell network is overloaded.
Capacity
Set a number lower than the room's maximum.
The fire occupancy number tells you how many people may be in the room. It does not tell you how many you can serve. A working service gives up floor to a check-in table, a supply stack, aisles wide enough for a wheelchair, a queue and a quiet corner.
Open this sectionClose this section: Capacity
More often the limit is not floor at all. It is the number of toilets, the number of volunteers on the shift, the outlets the electrician approved or the cases of water in the closet. Whichever runs out first is your capacity.
For comparison only: FEMA plans 40 to 60 square feet per person for the sleeping area of an overnight shelter.[9] That figure is for shelters and should not be stretched to cover a daytime room, but it shows how quickly a hall that seats 200 for a dinner shrinks when people need to stay.
Write three numbers
Normal capacity
What the room, toilets, staff and supplies support on a good day.
Reduced capacity
What you drop to when a toilet fails, a volunteer leaves or supplies run low.
Closing threshold
The condition at which intake stops, written so the person at the door can apply it without a phone call.
Count at the door
One volunteer with a tally counter counts people in and out. Without a count, nobody notices the room is over its number until the aisles are gone. Post the capacity where guests can see it, so closing the door at that number is expected and not personal.
The trial run
A walk-through cannot show you a full room.
Run the service once at small scale before the public needs it. Invite thirty members for two hours on a weekday evening and operate exactly as planned: the sign at the road, the check-in table, the count, the water, the closing announcement.
Open this sectionClose this section: The trial run
The federal planning guide recommends exercising under different and non-ideal conditions, and writing up what was learned afterward.[1] So do part of the trial with the lights off.
What a trial shows
- where coats, bags and mobility devices really end up
- whether the queue blocks the exit
- how loud the room gets
- how long check-in takes per person
- what happens at shift change
- which sign everyone walks past
Who to invite
- a wheelchair or walker user
- a parent with a stroller and small children
- someone who is hard of hearing
- someone who has never been in the building
- your fire department contact, if they will come
Afterward
Spend fifteen minutes with the team while it is fresh. List what to fix, give each item an owner and a date, and adjust the capacity numbers if the room felt full before it reached them.
The decision record
Approve the service, not the aspiration.
The output of an assessment is one page your governing body signs. It should be specific enough that a volunteer who was not at the meeting could open the room correctly from it.
Open this sectionClose this section: The decision record
The record names
- the service, the room, the hours and the three capacity numbers
- who approved it and who operates it
- each required correction, its owner and its date
- the minimum staff and supplies
- the step-free entrance, the accessible toilet and how announcements are made
- the conditions for opening, reducing and closing
- the rooms closed to guests, and who checks them
- who restores the room, and the date of the next review
An approval expires
Look again after construction, new equipment, a new tenant, a different service, a real activation or a trial that found problems. The federal planning guide notes that many organizations review their plans every year, and says no part of a plan should go more than two years without review.[1]
Separately from the review, recheck the critical items before every activation: exits, toilets, power, temperature, water and staffing. A building approved in spring can have a failed furnace in winter.
Stop conditions
Do not open around an unresolved safety condition.
Every item on the right is something a well-meaning team has talked itself past because people were waiting. These stop conditions are our own rules. Write them into the plan as conditions the shift lead applies without debate.
A "not suitable" verdict is not the end of your usefulness. A building that cannot host the public can still store a partner's supplies, lend its parking lot, or send its volunteers to a site that passed.
Next step: walk the site with the workbook
The workbook records the route, the systems, the corrections and the verdict on a few printed pages. Then return to the faith community preparedness guide.
Questions leaders ask
Settle these before you offer the building.
How do we know if our building can be used in an emergency?
Assess one specific service in one specific room. Confirm who can approve it, walk the path from the road to the exit, check exits, power, water, toilets and temperature, set a capacity and record one of four verdicts.
How many people can our hall hold?
Ask the fire department for the approved occupancy of that room for that use. Your working capacity will be lower, set by toilets, staff, supplies and the floor the service itself takes up.
Do we need a generator?
Not for every service. Decide first what must keep running, and have a qualified electrician install any connection to the building's electrical system, with a transfer switch. A portable generator runs outside only, at least 20 feet from the building, exhaust facing away, never in a building or garage.
What will the fire department look for?
The U.S. Fire Administration lists two ways out of every room, a posted escape plan, placement of smoke alarms, undamaged cords and outlets that are not overloaded, and doors everyone can open from inside without a key.
What if our building has steps at every entrance?
Then it is not suitable for a public service until that is corrected. Use a different building, host the service at a partner's site, or take a role that does not bring the public inside.
Who needs to approve opening the building to the public?
Usually the property owner or trustees, the governing body, and your insurer in writing. Tell local emergency management and any group that rents or shares the building.
How often should we reassess?
After any construction, new equipment, new tenant, new service or real activation. The federal planning guide says no part of a plan should go more than two years without review. Recheck exits, toilets, power and temperature before every opening.
Is a building assessment the same as a code inspection?
No. This is an operating screen your own team can do. It does not replace fire, building, electrical, accessibility, health or insurance inspections, and it should lead you to ask for them.
Primary sources
Planning references
Each source below was opened and read on the access date shown beside it. The generator, cord and carbon monoxide guidance was written for homes, and the Department of Justice checklist is archived technical assistance written for shelters. The text above says so where it matters.
- FEMA and federal partners, Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship (June 2013). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. Fire Administration, Protecting Houses of Worship Against Arson (last reviewed May 6, 2024). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters (July 26, 2007, archived technical assistance). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov, Emergency Planning. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Carbon Monoxide Information Center. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Ready.gov, Power Outages. Accessed October 12, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC Warns Consumers About Faulty Extension Cords, Power Strips and Surge Protectors (February 24, 1999). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- CDC, How to Make Water Safe in an Emergency (September 19, 2024). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- FEMA Resource Typing Library, Short-Term Shelter, Version 1.5 (web listing updated October 31, 2024; PDF dated September 2025). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- FEMA, Engaging Faith-Based and Community Organizations: Planning Considerations for Emergency Managers (April 2025). Accessed October 12, 2026.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA Fact Sheet: Using Portable Generators Safely (DTSEM FS-3286, September 2005). Accessed October 13, 2026.
This guide is an operating screen. It is not a fire, building, accessibility, electrical, public-health or insurance inspection, and it does not replace one.
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