Emergency Guide for Day Cares

Introduction:

Section 1:  Steps in the Planning Process:

Section 2:  Emergency Management Considerations:

Appendix:

About This Guide: [top]

This guide provides step-by-step advice on how to create and maintain a comprehensive emergency management program. It can be used by manufacturers, corporate offices, retailers, utilities or any organization where a sizable number of people work or gather.

Whether you operate from a high-rise building or an industrial complex; whether you own, rent or lease your property; whether you are a large or small company; the concepts in this guide will apply.

To begin you need not have in-depth knowledge of emergency management. What you need is the authority to create a plan and a commitment from the chief executive officer to make emergency management part of your corporate culture.

If you already have a plan, use this guide as a resource to assess and update your plan.

The guide is organized as follows:

Section 1: Steps in the Planning Process – how to form a planning team; how to conduct a vulnerability analysis; how to develop a plan; and how to implement the plan. The information can be applied to virtually any type of business or industry.

Section 2: Emergency Management Considerations – how to build such emergency management capabilities as life safety and community outreach.

What is an Emergency? [top]

An emergency is an unplanned event that can cause deaths or significant injuries to employees, customers or the public; or that can shut down your business, disrupt operations, cause physical or environmental damage, or threaten the facility’s financial standing or public image.

Obviously, numerous events can be emergencies, including:

The term "disaster" has been left out of this document because it lends itself to a preconceived notion of a large-scale event, usually a "natural disaster." In fact, each event must be addressed within the context of the impact it has on the company and the community. What might constitute a nuisance to a large industrial facility could be a disaster to a small business.

What is Emergency Management?  [top]

Emergency Management is the process of preparing for mitigating, responding to and recovering from an emergency.

Emergency management is a dynamic process. Planning, though critical, is not the only component. Training, conducting drills, testing equipment, and coordinating activities with the community are other important functions.

Making the "Case" for Emergency Management:  [top]

To be successful, emergency management requires upper management support. The chief executive sets the tone by authorizing planning to take place and directing senior management to get involved.

When presenting the "case" for emergency management, avoid dwelling on the negative effects of an emergency (e.g., deaths, fines, and criminal prosecution) and emphasize the positive aspects of preparedness.  For example:

Step 1:  Establishing a Planning Team:  [top]

There must be an individual or group in charge of developing the emergency management plan. The following is guidance for making the appointment.

Form the Team:  [top]

The size of the planning team will depend on the facility’s operations, requirements and resources. Usually involving a group of people is best because:

Determine who can be an active member and who can serve in an advisory capacity. In most cases, one or two people will be doing the bulk of the work. At the very least, you should obtain input from all functional areas. Remember:

Figure 1 - Example of a Planning Team:

Establish Authority:

Demonstrate management’s commitment and promote an atmosphere of cooperation by "authorizing" the planning group to take the steps necessary to develop a plan. The chief executive or center director should lead the group.

Establish a clear line of authority between group members and the group leader, though not so rigid as to prevent the free flow of ideas.

Issue a Mission Statement:

Have the chief executive or center director issue a mission statement to demonstrate the company commitment to emergency management. The statement should define the purpose of the plan and indicate that it will involve the entire organization.

Establish a Schedule:

Establish a work schedule and planning deadlines. Timelines can be modified as priorities become more clearly defined.

Step 2:  Analyze Capabilities and Hazards

This step entails gathering information about current capabilities and about possible hazards and emergencies, and then conducting a vulnerability analysis to determine the facility’s capabilities for handling emergencies.

Where Do You Stand Right Now?

Review Internal Plans and Policies. Documents to look for include:

  • Evacuation Plan Fire Protection Plan Safety and Health Program
  • Security Procedures Closing Policy Environmental Policies
  • Employee Manuals Mutual Aid Agreements

Meet With Outside Groups:

Meet with government agencies, community organizations and utilities. Ask about potential emergencies and about plans and available resources for responding to them. Sources of information include:

  • Community Emergency Management Office
  • Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
  • Fire and Police Departments
  • Emergency Medical Services organizations
  • American Red Cross
  • Neighboring businesses

Identify Codes and Regulations:

Identify applicable Federal, State and local regulations such as:

  • Occupational safety and health regulations
  • Environmental regulations
  • Fire codes
  • Transportation regulations
  • Zoning regulations
  • Corporate policies

Identify Critical Products, Services and Operations:

You’ll need this information to assess the impact of potential emergencies and to determine the need for backup systems. Areas to review include:

Identify Internal Resources and Capabilities:

Resources and capabilities that could be needed in an emergency include:

Identify External Resources:

There are many external resources that could be needed in an emergency. In some cases, formal agreements may be necessary to define the facility’s relationship with the following:

Do an Insurance Review:

Meet with insurance carriers to review all policies.

Conduct a Vulnerability Analysis:

The next step is to assess the vulnerability of your facility – the probability and potential impact of each emergency. Use the Vulnerability Analysis Chart in the appendix section to guide the process, which entails assigning probabilities, estimating impact and assessing resources, using a numerical system. The lower the score the better.

List Potential Emergencies:

In the first column of the chart, list all emergencies that could affect your facility, including those identified by your local emergency management office. Consider both:

Below are some other factors:

Historical – What types of emergencies have occurred in the community, at this facility and at other facilities in the area?

Geographic - What can happen as a result of the facility’s location? Keep in mind:

Technological – What could result from a process or system failure? Possibilities include:

Human Error – What emergencies can be caused by employee error? Are employees trained to work safely? Do they know what to do in an emergency?

Physical – What types of emergencies could result from the design or construction of the facility? Does the physical facility enhance safety? Consider:

Analyze each potential emergency from beginning to end. Consider what could happen as a result of:

Estimate Probability:

In the Probability column, rate the likelihood of each emergency’s occurrence. This is a subjective consideration, but useful nonetheless. (Use a simple scale of one to five with one as the lowest probability and five as the highest.)

Assess the Potential Human Impact:

Analyze the potential human impact of each emergency – the possibility of death or injury. Assign a rating in the Human Impact column of the Vulnerability Analysis Chart.

(Use a one to five scale with one as the lowest impact and five as the highest.)

Assess Internal and External Resources:

Next assess your resources and ability to respond.  Assign a score to your Internal and External Resources. The lower the score the better.

To help you do this, consider each potential emergency from beginning to end and each resource that would be needed to respond. For each emergency ask these questions:

If the answers are yes, move on to the next assessment.

If the answers are no, identify what can be done to correct the problem. For example, you may need to:

Add the Columns:

Total the scores for each emergency. The lower the score the better. While this is a subjective rating, the comparisons will help determine planning and resource priorities – the subject of the pages to follow.

Step 3:  Develop the Plan

You are now ready to develop an emergency management plan.

Plan Components:

Your plan should include the following basic components:

Executive Summary - The executive summary gives management a brief overview of:

Emergency Management Elements - This section of the plan briefly describes the facility’s approach to the core elements of emergency management, which are:

These elements are the foundation for the emergency procedures that your facility will follow to protect personnel.

Emergency Response Procedures:

The procedures spell out how the facility will respond to emergencies. Whenever possible, develop them a series of checklists that can be quickly accessed by management, department heads, response personnel and employees.

Determine what actions would be necessary to:

Specific procedures might be needed for any number of situations such as bomb threats or tornadoes, and for such functions as:

Support Documents:

Documents that could be needed in an emergency include:

Building and site maps that indicate:

The Development Process:

The following is guidance for developing the plan:

Identify Challenges and Prioritize Activities - Determine specific goals and milestones. Make a list of tasks to be performed, by whom and when, Determine how you will address the problem areas and resource shortfalls that were identified in the vulnerability plan.

Write the Plan - Assign each member of the planning group a section to write. Determine the most appropriate format for each section.

Establish an aggressive timeline with specific goals. Provide enough time for completion of work, but not so much as to allow assignments to linger. Establish a schedule for:

Establish a Training Schedule:

Have one person or department responsible for developing a training schedule for your facility.
For specific ideas about training, refer to Step 4.

Coordinate with Outside Organizations:

Meet periodically with local government agencies and community organizations. Inform appropriate government agencies that you are creating an emergency management plan. While their official approval may not be required, they will likely give valuable insights and information to offer.

Determine State and local requirements for reporting emergencies, and incorporate them into your procedures.

Determine protocols for turning control of a response over to outside agencies. Some details that may need to be worked out are:

Review, Conduct Training and Revise:

Distribute the first draft to group members for review. Revise as needed.

For a second review, conduct a tabletop exercise with management and personnel who have a key emergency management responsibility. In a conference room setting, describe an emergency scenario and have participants discuss their responsibilities and how they would react to the situation. Based on this discussion, identify areas of confusion and overlap and modify the plan accordingly.

Step 4 - Implement the Plan

Implementation means more than simply exercising the plan during an emergency.
It means acting on recommendations made during the vulnerability analysis, integrating
the plan into company operations, training employees and evaluating the plan.

Integrate the Plan into Company Operations:

Emergency planning must become part of the corporate culture.

Look for opportunities to build awareness; to educate and train personnel; to test procedures; to involve all levels of management, all departments and the community in the planning process; and to make emergency management part of what personnel do on a day-to-day basis.

Test how completely the plan has been integrated by asking:

Conduct Training:

Everyone who works at the facility requires some form of training. This could include periodic employee discussion sessions to review procedures, evacuation drills and full-scale exercises. Below are basic considerations for developing a training plan.

Planning Considerations:

Assign responsibility for developing a training plan. Consider the training and information needs for employees, contractors, visitors, managers and those with an emergency response role identified in the plan. Determine for a 12-month period:

Training Activities:

Orientation and Education Sessions – These are regularly scheduled discussion sessions to provide information, answer questions and identify needs and concerns.

Tabletop Exercise – Members of the emergency management group meet in a conference room setting to discuss their responsibilities and how they would react to emergency scenarios. This is a cost effective and efficient way to identify areas of overlap and confusion before conducting more demanding training activities.

Walk-through Drill – The emergency management group and response teams actually perform their emergency response functions. This activity generally involves more people and is more thorough than a tabletop exercise.

Functional Drills – These drills test specific functions such as medical response, emergency notifications, warning and communications procedures and equipment, though not necessarily at the same time. Personnel are asked to evaluate the systems and identify problem areas.

Evacuation Drill – Personnel walk the evacuation route to a designated area where procedures for accounting for all personnel are tested. Participants are asked to make notes as they "evacuate" of things which might become possible hazards during an emergency (stairways cluttered with debris, smoke in the hallways, etc.) Plans are modified accordingly.

Full-scale Exercise – A real life emergency situation is simulated as closely as possible. This exercise involves company emergency response personnel, employees, management and community response organizations.

Employee Training:

General training for all employees should address:

Evaluate and Modify the Plan:

Conduct a formal audit of the entire plan at least once a year. Among the issues to consider are:

Evacuation Planning:

One common means of protection is evacuation. In the case of fire an immediate evacuation to a predetermined area away from the facility may be necessary. In a hurricane, evacuation could involve the entire community and take place over a period of days.

To develop an evacuation policy and procedure:

  • Determine the conditions under which an evacuation would be necessary
  • Establish a clear chain of command. Identify personnel with the authority to order an evacuation. Designate "evacuation wardens" to assist others in an evacuation and to account for personnel
  • Establish procedures for assisting persons with disabilities and those who do not speak English
  • Post evacuation procedures
  • Designate personnel to continue or shut down critical operations while an evacuation is underway. They must be capable of recognizing when to abandon the operation and evacuate themselves
  • Coordinate plans with the local emergency management office

Evacuation Routes & Exits:

Ensure that evacuation routes and emergency exits are:

  • Wide enough to accommodate the number of evacuating personnel
  • Clear and unobstructed at all times
  • Unlikely to expose evacuating personnel to additional hazards
  • Have evacuation routes evaluated by someone not in your organization

Assembly Areas and Accountability:

  • Obtaining an accurate account of personnel after a site evacuation requires planning and practice
  • Designate assembly areas where personnel should gather after evacuating
  • Take a head count after the evacuation. The names and last known locations of personnel not accounted for should be determined and given to the Incident Commander
  • Establish procedures for further evacuation in case the incident expands. This may consist of sending employees home by normal means or providing them with transportation to an off-site location

Function:

Life Safety:

Protecting the health and safety of everyone in the facility is the first priority during an emergency.

Shelter:

In some emergencies, the best means of protection is to take shelter either within the facility if away from the facility in a public building.

  • Consider the conditions for taking shelter
  • Identify shelter space in the facility
  • Establish procedures to shelter-in-place
    • Close all windows/door
    • Turn off/close ventilation systems
    • Tune radio/TV to one of the Emergency Alerting System (AS) stations
    • Determine needs for emergency supplies such as water, food, and medical

Training and Information:

Train employees in safety procedures at least annually or when:

  • Employees are hired
  • Procedures are updated or revised
  • Exercises show that employee performance must be improved

Provide information such as checklists and evacuation maps. Post evacuation maps in strategic locations. Consider the needs of customers and visitors.

Family Preparedness:

Consider ways to help employees prepare the children’s families for emergencies. Provide information regarding where the children will be moved to, including the street address and phone number.

Function

Community Outreach:

Your facility’s relationship with the community will influence your ability to protect personnel and property and return to normal operations.

Involving the Community:

Maintain a dialogue with community leaders, first responders, government agencies, community organizations and utilities, including:

  • Fire, police and emergency medical services personnel
  • Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) members
  • Emergency Management Director
  • American Red Cross
  • Hospitals
  • Telephone company
  • Electric utility
  • Neighborhood groups
  • Have regular meetings with community emergency personnel to review emergency plans and procedures
  • Talk about what you’re doing to prepare for and prevent emergencies. Explain your concern for the community’s welfare
  • Identify ways your facility could help the community in a community-wide emergency
  • Look for common interest and concerns. Identify opportunities for sharing resources and information
  • Conduct confidence-building activities such as facility tours. Do a facility walk-through with community response groups
  • Involve community fire, police and emergency management personnel in drills and exercises
  • Meet with your neighbors to determine how you could assist each other in an emergency

Mutual Aid Agreements:

To avoid confusion and conflict in an emergency, establish mutual aid agreements with local response agencies and businesses. These agreements should:

  • Define the type of assistance
  • Identify the chain of command for activating the agreement
  • Define communications procedures
  • Include these agencies in facility training exercises whenever possible

Function

Administration and Logistics:

Maintain complete and accurate records at all times to ensure a more efficient emergency response and recovery. Certain records may also be required by regulations or by your insurance carriers or prove invaluable in the case of legal action after an incident.

Administrative Actions:

Administrative actions prior to an emergency include:

  • Establishing a written emergency management plan
  • Maintaining training records
  • Maintaining all written communications
  • Documenting drills and exercises and their critiques
  • Involving community emergency response organizations in planning activities

Administrative actions during and after an emergency include:

  • Maintaining telephone logs
  • Keeping a detailed record of events
  • Maintaining a record of injuries and follow-up actions
  • Accounting for personnel
  • Coordinating notification of family members