Evacuation planning, revisited: This critical step will assist in saving lives

Please accept an outlook that, "It can happen here!" If you just watch you network broadcast television station or read your newspaper you will find there are emergencies and disasters occurring regularly. Critical to life safety for all occupants, in both commercial high-rise and residential high-rise buildings, are evacuation plans. It is imperative that you have as part of your emergency action plan, an evacuation plan, that is site specific and that those members of building management, facilities operations and security have reviewed it. The safe evacuation of a building is your primary responsibility. The emergency action plan's evacuation procedures should include not only procedures for safe evacuation but the establishment of a facility safety team, search teams and evacuation teams. Ad hoc members of the facility safety team may include members of first responder agencies, who should be consulted for input and coordination as part of the planning process. The facility safety team will be tasked to begin the process of directing, controlling and coordinating tenants, staff and visitors during and after and emergency. The team should be instructed to yield to and assist police, fire and any other emergency response agencies when directed to do so by those agencies. The team should identify and maintain a list of those occupants of the building needing special assistance or attention, i.e., physically disabled, oxygen, medications. Members of the facility safety team: Building security, floor wardens, facilities, building management should be the first to be notified in the event of an emergency. When an evacuation is declared, team members should assist in the safe and orderly vacating of the building. The team will assist in the security coverage of the site to protect and secure building assets and any personal property left behind by occupants or visitors. Floor plans, blueprints, schematics and other maps should be kept in the building management office to be distributed to fire, police and other emergency first responders. Telephone and pager numbers for key administrative personnel for notification purposes, should be maintained by the front office staff. In the event that an emergency occurs, where officials determine that an orderly evacuation is necessary, the property manager, building superintendent and if possible the facility management team should authorize the notification of building occupants that the emergency action plan will be activated. The building should not be evacuated unless ordered to do so by police, fire or building department officials when a fire alarm, bomb threat or gas leaks occur. In a bomb threat situation, when an explosive device is located, the decision to evacuate or partially evacuate should be made by the police department. Only trained law enforcement officials are authorized to inspect a suspicious object or package, once located. When the decision to evacuate the entire building is made, building staff members and floor wardens should take up prescribed posts to direct all occupants to designated stairwells, corridors and passageways. All occupants must be directed to either shelter-in-place locations or pre-arranged outside host shelter sites in the neighborhood. An up-to-date, daily occupant list should be maintained in order to verify that everyone in the building has safely evacuated to a designated site. A contact list with names and phone numbers for each occupant should be maintained, who can be contacted in the event of an emergency. Designated areas for relocation should have general provisions available including first aid kit, drinking water, blankets, flashlights, portable radio and an emergency communication system. Not only should your emergency action plan be site-specific, its emergency response procedures should be job-specific. A successful emergency response plan, with the appropriate, clear, concise and effective evacuation procedures will require several revisions and testing to assure that everything that can be done is being done, to save lives. The emergency action plan must be issued to, and studied by all responsible parties including the ad hoc members of the facility safety team. To assure your evacuation plan's successful implementation when called upon, in the event of the unexpected emergency, your evacuation plan must be exercised. Periodic, random drills must be conducted to assure everyone's working knowledge of the plan. Each and every time you conduct a mock drill, your team will become more confident and more proficient. Building occupants, staff and visitors-contractors should be part of the testing and drill program on a periodic basis. In order to guarantee your organization's preparedness, a Safeguards International emergency-planning specialist will assist your organization in the creation of your site-specific evacuation plan or review your existing plan, conduct the necessary training program for your personnel and the essential periodic drills. Allan Schwartz, CPP, CHS-III, is president and CEO of Safeguards International, Inc., Yonkers, N.Y.