How Should You Plan for Rescue Operations?

How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuations

What is a Workplace Emergency?

It takes more than just willing hands to save lives. Untrained individuals may endanger themselves and those they are trying to rescue. For this reason, it is generally wise to leave rescue work to those who are trained, equipped, and certified to conduct rescues.

If you have operations that take place in permit-required confined spaces, you may want your emergency action plan to include rescue procedures that specifically address entry into each confined space. (See also OSHA Publication 3138, Permit-Required Confined Spaces, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ( NIOSH) Publication 80-106, Criteria for a Recommended Standard...Working in Confined Spaces.)