This regulation applies to all companies that fall under a particular OSHA standard that requires an emergency action plan. However, it is wise for all employers to have action plans for any emergency that may be reasonably expected to occur in the workplace. Where required by OSHA, employers must develop a plan (called an emergency action plan or EAP) for emergency situations so that there is a literal “plan of action” for employees to take in the event of fires, toxic chemical releases, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and other similar catastrophic events.

Action steps

Include the following minimum requirements in the EAP to ensure that it covers those designated actions employers and employees must take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies.

• Establish emergency escape procedures and emergency escape route assignments.
• Develop procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate.
• Establish procedures to account for all employees after emergency evacuation has been completed.
• Assign rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to perform them.
• List the preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies.
• Develop a list of employee names or regular job titles of persons or departments who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan.
• Establish an employee alarm system. If the employee alarm system is used for alerting fire brigade members, or for other purposes, use a distinctive signal for each purpose.
• List the types of evacuation to be used in emergency circumstances.
• Designate and train a sufficient number of employees to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of employees before implementing the EAP.
• Review the EAP with each covered employee upon initial assignment, when the employee’s responsibility or designated actions under the plan change, and when the plan changes.

Training action plan

You should develop an emergency action team prior to implementing the EAP. Begin by designating and training a sufficient number of employees to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of their coworkers.

• List the names or job titles of persons who can be contacted for more information on the plan. Trainees should understand:
  • The employee alarm system,
  • How to report fires and other emergencies, and
  • Which personnel are designated to perform rescue and medical duties and their individual responsibilities.
• Explain how all employees will be accounted for after the emergency evacuation has been completed. Make sure employees understand:
  • Critical plant operations and who is designated to remain behind to operate it/shut it down before they evacuate, and
  • Emergency escape procedures and emergency escape routes.

Tips

A map of the facility showing specific areas, exit routes, exit doors, and head count locations is a useful training tool and should also be posted around the company.

If a fire occurs, safe and orderly evacuation is necessary. Your company should have an established evacuation plan, with procedures and exits indicated. Find out what it is and where you are expected to go during a fire or fire drill. A head count location should be established so that once everyone is evacuated, you meet at a designated spot to account for each employee.

Other than fires, severe weather emergencies are the most common emergency situations that occur. Severe weather emergencies include hurricanes, tornadoes, excessive heat, heavy snow, and extreme cold weather conditions.

If a bomb threat is made at your facility, always take the threat seriously. Immediately notify a supervisor or the safety manager of the threat and evacuate the premises (do not search for a bomb unless instructed by police to look for foreign or suspicious objects).

Checklist

Follow these checklists to ensure you and your employees are prepared for any potential emergencies.

Emergency action plan

• Is there an emergency action plan (EAP) in place detailing procedures employees should follow in an emergency?
• Does the EAP include procedures for all anticipated emergency situations (i.e., fire, tornado, bomb threat, or explosion)?
• Does the EAP include escape procedures and routes?
• Does the EAP contain procedures for those remaining in the facility to perform critical operations?
• Do you have headcount procedures (location or methods for accounting for employees)?
• If your company is located in a high-rise building, does your emergency program include appropriate escape information?
• Do you have an employee assistance program or some other means to provide counseling to employees should a disaster occur?

Disaster recovery

• Have you established a work location that could be used should your facility be unavailable due to disaster or emergency?
• Does the temporary work location have all necessary equipment so critical business functions can be carried out?
• Have necessary safety measures been taken to ensure that the temporary location is safe and will have necessary protective equipment?

Rescue workers

• Is air monitoring conducted to make sure rescue area is safe?
• Are rescue workers protected against hazards that may be encountered (i.e., asbestos, silica)?
• Are rescue workers provided proper protective equipment for the hazards they face?

Alarms and warnings

• Does the employee alarm system provide warning for necessary emergency action as called for in the emergency action plan?
• Is the employee alarm capable of being perceived above ambient noise or light levels by all employees in the affected portions of the workplace?
• Is the employee alarm distinctive and recognizable as a signal to evacuate the work area or take necessary actions?
• Have all employees been informed of the preferred means of reporting emergencies, such as manual pull box alarms, public address systems, radio or telephones?
• Are emergency telephone numbers posted near telephones, or employee notice boards, and other conspicuous locations?
• Have procedures been established for sounding emergency alarms in the workplace?

Fire alarm systems

• If you have a non-supervised fire alarm system, is it tested bimonthly?
• If you have a supervised employee alarm system (that is, does the alarm have a device that indicates system malfunction), is it tested yearly?