Emergency response planning is often known as crafting the Incident Action Plan and Emergency Response Team (ERT) Activation Plan for ERT to carry out their responsibilities when an incident happens. However, since general staff have a higher chance of encountering an incident firsthand, they play several roles in the big picture of the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) under the Staff Response Plan which can be summarized under the acronym R.A.I.N – Recognize, Avoid, Isolate, and Notify.
Recognize when an incident happens.
Knowing what could go wrong in the workplace gives the staff a subconscious alertness to the surroundings. Each workplace could have specific hazards according to the nature of its operation, building structures, and chemicals and materials stored.
All staff should recognize abnormal events based on what they see, hear, and smell so that subsequent appropriate actions can be taken.
For example, seeing a clear liquid puddle on the floor in the sulfuric acid storage area and smelling something pungent in the air, the staff should be able to identify that a chemical spillage or leakage has happened. Recognizing an incident is the first step before initiating any emergency response actions.
Avoid the dangers.
When an incident happens, it could take time before the first responders or ERT are alerted and dispatched. Knowing how to avoid dangers or suitable self-rescue skills in various scenarios can greatly reduce casualties should some staff get caught in an incident with no help nearby.
Some essential self-rescue skills to learn for workplace emergencies are:
- Escape to a well-ventilated place if unknown fumes are seen dispersing in the air.
- Stop, drop, and roll if clothes catch fire.
- Stay low on the floor and crawl towards the exit to avoid smoke from the fire.
Isolate the scene.
While the staff should prioritize their safety, they should isolate the scene if it is safe to do so to prevent unsuspecting people from getting into danger. The action can be as simple as closing the fire door or standing guard at a safe distance and calling out to people not to approach the scene. If they know where the physical barriers such as cones or danger signs are kept, they can place these at the entrance of the incident vicinity.
Notify the right person to escalate the incident.
Incident notification from staff is the first step of incident escalation in many workplaces. This ensures the person in charge receives the incident information firsthand to take suitable action to prevent the incident from spiraling out of control.
The incident notification process involves:
- Who to notify
- Through which communication channel or tool
- Where to obtain the contact information or channel
- What information to provide
——
Everyone knows immediately what they need to do when the alarm goes off buys precious time for orderly damage control and safe evacuation without relying on ad hoc instructions that might be confusing for those unfamiliar with the processes. While it is important to build up the skills and knowledge of the ERT members, ensuring all staff are trained based on job performance requirements (JPRs) laid out in the Staff Response Plan is often the key to efficient incident escalation and safe evacuation in the workplace.
