Is Your Emergency Plan Up to Date?

Nobody expects an emergency or disaster — especially one that affects them, their employees, their business, and customers. Yet the simple truth is that emergencies and disasters can strike anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Putting together a comprehensive emergency action plan that deals with issues specific to your venue is not difficult.

Your emergency action plan should include the following:

A defined a preferred method for communicating with local agencies.

An evacuation policy and procedure: Identify safe haven locations. Consider a “safe room” with reinforced access, internet and hard wired or cell phone service. Look for facilities for local safe haven, such as parking garages or adjacent building that are accessible.

Emergency escape procedures and route assignments, such as floor plans, workplace maps, and safe or refuge areas; Keep drawings of floor plans, entrances, exits, stairways, etc., in electronic form to share with emergency responders. Do a walk through with your local fire and police representatives and place these documents on file with them.

Establish a chain of command for responsible parties or supervisors. Names, titles, departments, and telephone numbers of individuals to contact for additional information or explanation of duties and responsibilities under the emergency plan.

Procedures for employees who remain to perform or shut down critical plant operations, operate fire extinguishers or perform other essential services that cannot be shut down for every emergency alarm before evacuating.

Rescue and medical duties for any workers designated to perform them.

Designate an assembly location and communication procedures to account for all employees after an evacuation.

Maintain accessible contact list for all staff and know who is working at all times.  Identify any employees with special needs.

An emergency kit with flashlights, basic first aid, filter masks, plastic sheeting to seal off doorways from smoke incursion, duct tape, a wrench to turn off utilities, moist toilettes, garbage bags, plastic ties and other items specific to your facility such as a fire ax or bolt cutters for escape.

Know your responders

 A fundamental part of the plan must be based on a relationship with your local fire, police, and medical responders. Do not wait for an emergency to get to know your local agencies. The building inspector and the fire marshal are your friends. Many club disasters have been the result of building code violations, such as over-occupancy or blocked exits. Check exits daily. Work with your local agencies to provide you customers with a safe environment and plan to stay in business for the long term.

Keep the plan current

In order for these materials to be helpful in an actual emergency, the information must be kept up to date.  Include co-workers from all levels in planning and as active members of the emergency management team.

Practice

Practice with co-workers. New hires need to understand their place in the emergency plan. Schedule periodic staff meetings with all employees to update them on current emergency procedures.

An investment in planning today will not only help protect your business but will also support your employees, customers, the community, the local economy, and even the country.  Get ready now!

The Department of Homeland Security has a website www.ready.gov with useful information, with links to many publications such as this document to help with emergency planning. http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/89518,

The US Department of Labor has information on workplace emergencies at: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3088.html