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Developing an emergency evacuation strategy

Jim Burtles suggests a structured approach to this essential area of crisis management.

There is no longer any doubt in anybody’s mind that business continuity plans are an essential element of the modern business and at long last most organisations are taking a serious look at such measures as fire prevention, physical security, structural integrity, dependency management, functional integrity, emergency response, salvage and recovery measures, escape routes and assembly areas.

Over the years, business continuity planners have looked at emergency and contingency plans for such diverse threats as fires, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, earthquakes, terrorist activity, riots, demonstrations and military coups. In all of these situations there is a basic question of how best to ensure the safety of the people. Often there is a choice of whether or not to evacuate the building. Sometimes it is safer to remain indoors than attempt to run away into the face of danger. There may not be sufficient warning to allow a proper choice to be made.

In a military context a workable solution is to harden the building so as to provide a permanently safe shelter for the workforce. We can take some elementary defensive measures in the commercial world but we are more likely to adopt evacuation as a preferred choice. One reason for its popularity is the assumption that it is a cost effective option. All the other choices seem to require capital investment or invite high running costs when they are invoked.
If evacuation planning is a sound strategy that we should all be considering then I suggest it is worth exploring what is involved and how we might adopt a common approach. We should be comparing views and opinions from around the world before finalising our model strategy. With that in mind, I should like to outline my views on the subject as a starting point.

A structured approach
My starting point was to consider what I have learned over the years as a practitioner, review the literature and apply some common sense. Much of the material I had access to was anecdotal or confidential and a lot of the common sense was second hand. But never mind the source of the inspiration – the acid test of my suggestions is whether you are prepared to take them on board as the basis of your approach.

The scope of the subject seems to include five main areas of concern: -

1. Site review process; highlighting risks and identifying opportunities
2. Evacuation and invacuation; looking at the options and making the choices
3. Emergency assembly areas; selection of safe sites and safe routes
4. Emergency response timing; what is realistic versus desirable or needed
5. Test and rehearsal regime; making sure it works and people know what to do

Emergency evacuation planning is entirely focussed on the protection and safety of people, taking no account of the protection of resources or property. Indeed, it is based on the assumption that property and resources are expendable in the circumstances of such an evacuation.

Site review
A site review for emergency evacuation planning includes the whole of the neighbourhood and the neighbours. We need to identify any risks to people’s safety throughout their progress from their place of work to the probable points of safety. Bear in mind the likely circumstances that would trigger the emergency evacuation and the numbers of people that could be involved. Many of the potential threats would apply to most of, if not all of, the buildings in the immediate vicinity.

Pay particular attention to the exit points from the building. There must be at least two emergency exits each offering different aspects or escape routes. Ideally, people should be able to exit in any direction, i.e. through a front, rear or side exit. All escape points should be equipped with a stout canopy or covered walkway so that members of staff are protected from falling debris as they move away from the building.

It is quite a good idea to use a checklist when carrying out such a survey, especially if this is your first attempt. Unless one has a great deal of experience in these matters it is easy to overlook some of the clues. There can be good clues and bad clues in the sense that some of them might reveal good news whilst others may suggest areas for improvement or even places to avoid.

Safe spaces
The second objective of the site review is to identify a number of safe spaces to be considered as potential emergency assembly areas. We are looking for two types of assembly area - internal refuges and safe open spaces. An internal refuge must be within the core of the building and not exposed to any external windows. Flying glass is one of the key dangers in many emergencies. Internal refuges must also be proof against internal damage to the building. You may need to seek the advice of a structural engineer in this connection.

A safe open space will be at some distance from the home location and will not be in line of sight of the likely target. This is a precaution against flying debris. The assembly area should also be a safe distance from nearby buildings to avoid the hazard of falling debris. Finally, the area should be at least 500 yards away or within about 5 minutes walking distance.

Once we have identified some safe spaces we need to plot some safe escape routes from the various exit points to the external assembly areas. There should be at least two alternative routes to each of the assembly areas so as to be able to avoid unexpected crowds, obstacles or additional dangers. Ideal escape routes avoid straight lines because corners provide protection.

Will we be safer indoors or out of doors?
“To flee or not to flee? That is the question.” Hamlet clearly had a dramatic moment and was unable to make up his mind. In an emergency situation we have no time for introspection or speeches – we must decide and act accordingly without delay.

You need to establish whether your building can be considered as a safe refuge in the event of an emergency. If there is enough really safe space within the building, invacuation can be regarded as an available option. On the one hand there is the advantage that nobody has to expose themselves to any external dangers as they escape. This has to be balanced against the possibility of finding themselves trapped inside the building. Clearly if there is sufficient notice of the impending danger then complete evacuation to a remote assembly area is the preferred strategy.
If the warning period is uncertain or very brief there are risks associated with an evacuation. The event may occur whilst some or all of the staff are still en route. Making the best decision at the earliest moment is a key consideration in developing our decision process.

Emergency evacuation process and timing
In order to develop a rational process for emergency evaluation and evacuation we have to make some assumptions or set certain parameters. We also have to understand that the process will involve a series of steps, which must be taken in quick succession. There can be no allowances for hesitation. My proposed model process is based upon the following parameters:

* There will be an evacuation window of up to 20 minutes. This is the time from the first alarm to the incident occurrence.
* The emergency assembly areas are 5 minutes walk from the target building.
* Exit time is 4 minutes. This is the length of time it takes to clear the target building.

Whilst we cannot verify or influence the duration of the evacuation window we can take steps to check the other two parameters. If we were unable to meet either of them, then I would seriously question the wisdom of occupying that particular building.

The emergency evacuation procedure might look something like this:

1. An alarm message is received and passed directly to the security officer, i.e the person with overall responsibility for security and safety.
Target time = 2 minutes from ET Zero (Start of Emergency Time)

2. A staff warning is issued advising everybody that an alarm is being investigated and they should ensure they have their personal belongings with them.

3. Meanwhile the security officer will be seeking to verify whether the alarm is a genuine emergency warning. This may be a call to the police or a quick review of the known facts and the current state of alert.
Target time for steps 2 and 3 = 4 minutes from ET Zero

4. Security officer then confirms the message and invokes the emergency evacuation procedure.
Target time = 5 minutes from ET Zero

5. Security officer selects the assembly area and escape route based on the information to hand. The default selection should be indicated in the plan.
Target time = 6 minutes from ET Zero

6. Evacuation is announced to members of staff by the most appropriate means. If there is no PA system the message may need to be cascaded via floor marshals. The message will state which exits to use, which routes to use and which assembly area to use.
Target time = 8 minutes from ET Zero

7. Everyone leaves the building via the selected exits and the security staff or floor marshals check that the building is clear before leaving. Everyone proceeds to the emergency assembly area using the selected route. Security staff and floor marshals should follow immediately the building is clear.
Target time = 12 minutes from ET Zero

8. The whole group gathers at the emergency assembly area awaiting further instructions or further developments. Unless there are further developments, all heads of departments should attempt to conduct a head count or identify anyone missing from those who were known to be in the building. Everyone else should attempt to meet up with fellow members of their department and make them selves known.
Target time = 18 minutes from ET Zero

Exceptions
* If the original alarm message is from a trusted official source, such as the police or fire service, then the security officer should immediately invoke the emergency evacuation procedure (step 5), as there is no need to verify that the alarm is genuine.

* If the original alarm is not confirmed as a genuine emergency situation then the security officer should issue a stand down message so that everyone can return to his or her normal duties with confidence.

This is a simplistic outline of the basic process and it would need to be tailored to suit any particular organisation and its circumstances.

In addition to planning where to go and how to get there you should consider the need for post-event debriefing and counselling, which should be an integral part of any comprehensive approach to contingency planning. Post-event debriefing helps us to understand what happened and learn for the future. At the same time it helps us to deal with our reactions to the event. It is an essential element of the recovery process.

Counselling is a further option that provides another level of personal support for those individuals who may need to explore and deal with their feelings and reactions under the guidance of an objective caring person.

Test and rehearsal regime
No plan of action has any value until it has been proven. Even then it has precious little value until all of the actors have practiced their performance. There is no question that Shakespeare wrote good plays but I can’t imagine that any drama company would want to stage one of them without a few rehearsals. Remember, our actors are not accomplished professionals and perhaps we should not put too much faith in a plot that has not yet stood the test of time.
Seriously, we must test our plans to see how well they work. We must also challenge the assumptions about timings. Once we are reasonably confident that the plans should work we must carry out a dress rehearsal to make sure everyone knows what to do and how to do it. Over time they will either have forgotten or they will have been replaced. This means we should carry out practice evacuations on a fairly regular basis, otherwise our plans could cause chaos rather than save lives.

Jim Burtles, FBCI, OLJ is a business continuity consultant and trainer with Automata Services. Contact him at j.burtles@ntlworld.com

•Date: 25th June 2004 •Region: UK/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC facilities

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