All Rights Reserved N.L. Austin & Associates, Inc. Corporate Emergency Preparedness and Response...

All Rights Reserved N.L. Austin & Associates, Inc.

Corporate Emergency Preparedness and Response

Hank Austin, CSP, MS


Understand this- there is a very good chance that at

some point, your organization will need to stand entirely on its own

during an emergency situation. Prepare for it.

What you can or cannot do could mean the survival of

your organization.


Our Lady of the Lake University fireSan Antonio


Start At The Beginning

• First, Be Prepared - cover the basics!

• What is most important?– People

• Evacuation, Exits, Evacuation-In-Place, Severe Weather Safe Locations

• Fire Systems

– Local Public Responders• Get to know them• Get them to know your facility


Congratulations!

• You are Done!

• Right?

• This is the apex of what most companies accomplish.

• But Wait! You want to really help your company.

• You want to be world-class?

• Then you have completed step one!


GOAL

• To enhance the bottom line of your company by protecting employees and facilities through:

• 1) anticipation and prevention (when possible) of catastrophic physical events (man made and natural) or;

• 3) by minimizing and rapidly recovering from those that occur.


SCOPE

• EVERYTHING THAT IS YOUR COMPANY– All Locations;– All Operations;– All Employees, Contractors, Temporaries and the

public at your locations;– All assets.

• You need to fully understand your company– You cannot protect what you do not know about– Become a detective


Highly Complex Area• Codes• Mathematics• Hydraulics• Physics• Building Construction• Standards• Electronics• Law• Interpersonal Relations• Government• Chemistry• Explosives• Firefighting• Rescue• Electricity• ETC


Office Building Smoke Detector Monitoring System



Determine What You Need To Do


Is it Anthrax?



Learn About Your Company

• What plans already exist?• Who are the key players?• What is the construction of your facility?• What hazards exist at your facility?

• Materials, Flammables, Fuel, Construction Materials, Natural Gas, Propane, Confined Spaces, ETC.

• What hazards are around your company?• Other facilities• Fuel depots• Hazardous Materials• Highways


Educate Yourself

• What are the pertinent codes?

• Do they fully protect you?

• Most people think that code compliance is enough.


Is Code Compliance Enough?Stand Pipe Pressure

100psi@

150gpm

2-1/2” Fire Hose F.L. = 10psi

1-3/4” Fire Hose F.L = 20psi

Automatic Nozzle F.L. = 20 psi

StandpipeTotal Friction Loss = 50psiLeaving only 50psi @ the nozzle

Most Auto Nozzles require 100psi


Fort Worth Tornado


What Have You Learned?

• How should you present the information?

• List all of the threats you found

• Numerically rate them on Risk, Damage, and Total.

• Put them on a matrix.

• Do the same with Business Resumption and Company Preparedness.


Threat MatrixThreat Risk Damage Total Plan

Fire 10 15 150 Y

Weather 15 5 75 Y

Haz Mat 5 8 40 N

Flood 3 15 45 N

Bomb 2 15 30 N

Terror 1 15 15 N

Riot 3 10 30 N

Power 10 10 100 N


Business Resumption Matrix

Area Plan Train TestFinance 7 5 0Human Resources 7 4 0Facilities 8 6 0Business Areas 7 4 0

Security 8 6 0Computer Svs 8 5 5

Overall Status0


Preparedness Matrix

Component Plan Train Test

Evacuation 10 10 10Evac-In-Place 8 8 0Communication 8 8 0

Response 5 0 0Overall


Del Rio Flooding


Plan

• Use all of the highly confidential information you have gathered to make your plans.

• What will you protect or attempt to save (after all the people are safe) during an emergency?

• This is critical information when fighting a fire.• Where are crews to be positioned?• Can items be moved out or covered?• Where should ventilation be accomplished?• What areas can be sacrificed?• Where can a stand be made?


Like any organization, fire and police departments all have their

strengths and weaknesses.

What are the needs of your company and how do they match up with the capabilities of your public responders?


What kinds of fire calls does the FD respond to most of the time?

Apartment FiresHouse Fires

Car FiresBrush Fires


Fire Department Priorities

• Life Safety is #1

• They will focus on getting people out while your facility burns – As it should be.

• This is another great reason to ensure that your employees are well trained in getting out and for having a great accountability system - so the FD can focus on saving your facility.


Fire Department- What Will They Do?

• What will be their first response to your facility?• How many trucks will they send?• What will they do first? • When they arrive, they now “own” your facility

and you are a potential arson suspect.• Will they work with you or ignore you?• Will they cut all power to your facility including

computer UPS?• Why should they care any more about your

facility – it’s just another job to them.


Fire Department Realities

• The fire department is a generalist group with few exceptions:– Special Rescue Team

– Haz Mat Team

– [PD – SWAT, Bomb Squad]

• Typically, these teams have an average response window of 45 minutes to 1 hour – if they are not on another call.

Ft. Worth Tornado


Fire Department Response and Operations

• Length of response– What is response time?– Remember – how long was the fire burning before it was discovered?– How long did your organizations take to call 911?– Can you get through on the first try?– How long does it take for the dispatcher to relay to the fire department?– Are your first in units at their station? – Are they fully staffed?– How long for fire dispatch to call the first in units?– How long for FF to wake up and get going?– Traffic?– Wrecks?– Get on site – how long to get effective action on fire?


Mail Sorting Machine



Debate over SAFD response time flares up in DominionExpress NewsBy Robert Crowe A fire of controversy is burning among Dominion residents who say firefighters took up to 35 minutes to respond Thursday night to their upscale, gated neighborhood, where a massive blaze tore through a $1 million home.Officially, the San Antonio Fire Department said the response time of Engine 34, the first fire truck to arrive at 23 Tuscany Court, was 11 minutes, 35 seconds. But neighbors and relatives of the homeowners insist that 25 to 35 minutes elapsed after the initial 911 calls before the first vehicle arrived.“It took them a lot longer than 11 minutes,” said Claudia Caballero, daughter of homeowner David S. Russell, who alerted his wife and children that he smelled smoke shortly before 7 p.m.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/email_us?contentID=37052594

http://www.mysanantonio.com/email_us?contentID=37052594


FD Capabilities Matrix

Component Ability Response

TimeEquip Total

Hi Rise Fire 6 8 7

Large Building Fire 5 8 7

Special Rescue 9 3 9

Special Issues 5 5 5

Total Rank


Analyze Your Data

• Compare all of your matrices• Where are the obvious holes?• That is where you start to build your

emergency response team.


During an Emergency

• What do you bring to the table?• During an emergency, are you scared and

confused and not sure where your people are and what is going on?

• Or do you have composure, have full accountability for your employees, have your facility plans and information and key and knowledgeable people close to provide help and information?

• Know what to do – get yourself trained!


Emergency Response Teams

• Why Have One?– Rapid response of members who are extremely

familiar with your facility and processes.– Fire Spread Speed– Protect Life– Protect Company– FD Response Issues– Fill in any holes discovered in your assessment.



• What should the team do?– Levels of ERT:

• Evacuation only (still need a plan)• Fire extinguisher use – training required• Incipient Stage Firefighting

– Can use fire streams on fires that are just beginning. I do not recommend this!

• Exterior Firefighting• Interior Structural Firefighting• Interior Structural and Exterior Firefighting


Emergency Response Team Interior Response Cart




• What should the team do? Continued• Specialty Skills

– Rescue» Confined Space» High Angle

– Haz Mat– Nuclear, Chemical, Biological


Texas A&M Municipal Fire School ERT Training



Emergency Response Team Training

• How much is enough?– Annually? Quarterly?

• …assure that each member of the fire brigade is able to perform the member's assigned duties and functions satisfactorily and in a safe manner so as not to endanger fire brigade members or other employees.

• How much is enough?


Training• What is the Standard of

Care? How “trained” should an ERT be?– The Volunteer Fire

Service– What are their

requirements?– Basic certification is 153

hours. Plus special hazards at your facility.

– That requires training of at least 2 hours per week, 1 week long class and a weekend to finish in a year.

http://www.sffma.org/images/photocontest/Photo%20Contest%202007/BestofShow2007Large.jpg


Ultimate ERT Objectives• 2. Be able to respond to all emergencies

– Fire– Smoke– Water leak (e.g. sprinkler leak)– Haz Mat– High Angle Rescue– Confined Space Rescue– Radiation– Entrapment– Vehicle Accident– Collapse– Electrocution– Medical– Biological


ERT Objectives• 3. Be prepared to break up to guide

and assist The Fire Department squads if they become necessary in the facility.– Guide the FD in very complex facility– Help them move with electric carts– Operate equipment– Provide special firefighting equipment– Provide knowledge of facility– Assist in communication– Guide in smoke filled environments– Make sure our goals are met


ERT Objectives

• 4. Be prepared to respond to and assist your other (remote) offices during emergency situations– Weather– Earthquake– Corporate Jets– Ground follow-up


Many ways to use team

• Obtain influence for your facility– Local, State, Federal

– Get the assistance you need

– Make sure you are part of the decision team


Research and Learn

• Building security and maintenance personnel delayed notifying Fire Department for 1 hour after first evidence of fire.

• Smoke detectors on several floors had been activated and reset a number of times before reporting to Fire Department.

• A maintenance employee died while trying to investigate source of alarms prior to calling Fire Department.

• Sprinkler system was installed in 90 percent of the building, including on fire floors; valves controlling the systems had

been closed, awaiting installation of water-flow alarms.

First Interstate Bank Building Los Angles


Research and Learn

• Fire pumps turned off for maintenance• Sections of sprinkler systems out of service• Fire alarm systems turned off• Blocked exits• Areas under renovation with no alarm system in them• Debris in standpipe systems• Pressures too low in standpipe systems – special

nozzels


Investigative Reports

• First Interstate Bank Building Fire Report United States Fire Administration

• MGM Grand Hotel Fire United States Fire Administration

• One Meridian Plaza Building Fire United States Fire Administration


Investigative Reports

• Get close to those organizations you need.• Part time hires.• Local Emergency Planning Committee.• Take them to lunch.• What assistance can you offer them?

– Safety– Industrial Hygiene– Equipment– Etc


Immerse Yourself in Emergency Preparedness and Response!

• Standards• OSHA, NFPA, Building Codes, ANSI

• Publications• Magazines – Fire House, Fire Engineering, Fire Chief• Books – Building Construction For the Fire Service – F. Brannigan;

Fire Command – Brunacini.• IFSTA – International Fire Service Training Association

• Classes• NFPA, Local and State Fire Schools, Community College,

Volunteer Fire Departments.

• Organizations• Local Emergency Planning Committee (County), Your Fire

Department.

• Services• FETN - Fire and Emergency Training Network



THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!QUESTIONS?

Slides will be posted next week at www.nlaustin.com

All Rights Reserved N.L. Austin & Associates, Inc. Corporate Emergency Preparedness and Response...

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Transcript of All Rights Reserved N.L. Austin & Associates, Inc. Corporate Emergency Preparedness and Response...