Emergency Evacuation Planning for Your Workplace

Book excerpt: First ever, all-in-one, practical resource for evacuating people of all ages and health conditions from all kinds of workplaces, including small offices, skyscrapers, stores, industrial plants, hospitals, business and college campuses, and schools. Inspired by the horrific evacuation challenges of 9/11 and authored by a recipient of the Business Continuity's Lifetime Achievement Award, this is an industry-defining book…. the result of 12 years of research into global best practices for getting everyone out safely -- every time! Your routine fire drill is no match for the large-scale chaos of major disasters. Today's tragic headlines of deaths from chemical plant explosions, factory fires, and doors, hallways and stairwells thoughtlessly blocked by storage items make it painfully obvious that every organization needs a comprehensive workplace emergency evacuation plan – well researched, well developed, and well rehearsed until individual and group safety behaviors become the default. From a review of floor plans and architectural conditions, to a precise "how-to" for testing and training the people in charge of an actual evacuation, world-renowned emergency management practitioner Jim Burtles leads you step-by-step through the kind of planning that saves lives. His comprehensive package of 600+ pages of book and downloads offers a practical toolkit full of innovative and field-tested plans, forms, checklists, tips, and tools for workplace evacuation, including: A groundbreaking approach that integrates for the first time the principles and practices of Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Emergency Evacuation Planning (EEP). It offers a methodology based on the Business Continuity Institute's proven 6-Phase Business Continuity Lifecycle Model, which encompasses development, delivery, and maintenance of organization-wide plans — to ensure that your procedures align with best practices, relevant regulations, sound governance, and corporate responsibility. Discussion of post-evacuation employee physical and emotional issues, emphasizing that caring for every person's well being entails every step taken from the moment the alarm sounds until everyone is safely back at their desks, back in their homes, safe in an emergency shelter, or has become the responsibility of some other agency. Emphasis on the importance of Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) versus Required Safe Egress Time (RSET). Use Burtles' formulas to compare your ASET and RSET under various scenarios and see the results. Thought-provoking discussion questions requiring application of principles to solve problems, numerous real-life case studies and examples, comprehensive index and detailed glossary that facilitate both college and professional instruction.