| Developing an emergency evacuation strategy
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. A structured approach The scope of the subject seems to include five main areas of concern: - 1. Site review process; highlighting risks
and identifying opportunities 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 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 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? 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. Emergency evacuation process and timing * There will be an evacuation window of up
to 20 minutes. This is the time from the first alarm to the incident
occurrence. 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. 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. 4. Security officer then confirms the message
and invokes the emergency evacuation procedure. 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. 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. 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. 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. Exceptions * 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 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 |
