Emergency Response Plans: What You Need to Know

When an emergency occurs, the safety of life is always the top priority. The second priority is to stabilize the incident and minimize potential damage. Trained employees can provide first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as well as use fire extinguishers to put out small fires. Containing a small chemical spill and monitoring public services and building systems can help reduce damage to a building and prevent environmental damage.

It's important to have a pre-developed summary of responses for each emergency situation. Professional first responders and medical services personnel are responsible for containing and mitigating these incidents, rescuing people at risk, and providing medical assistance to the injured. Creating an emergency response plan is essential for preparing for workplace emergencies. Make an inventory of available equipment, tools, and supplies and include it in your plan. Public emergency services such as fire departments can provide rescue services, hazardous materials, and emergency doctors.

It's also important to coordinate between federal, state, municipal, public, and private response organizations in the event of a multi-agency response. The first step in developing an emergency response plan is to conduct a risk assessment to identify possible emergency scenarios. Well-developed plans and adequate employee training will help reduce injuries among employees and less structural damage to facilities during emergencies. The Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is a supporting document intended to facilitate RIDEM's environmental response in a safe, timely, and effective manner. Depending on the response time and capabilities of public emergency services and the hazards and resources of your facilities, you may choose to do more to prepare for these incidents. Assign staff the responsibility to control access to the emergency site and keep people away from unsafe areas.

These actions are considered “property conservation” as an important part of the emergency response plan. Give a copy of the plan to public emergency services that will respond to your facilities and other people responsible for the management and security of the building.