Clifford Adkins, President & CEO of ARC Products, LLC
The safety of students and staff is a fundamental responsibility of the school administration and board. Recent national disasters have shown that taking a proactive approach to emergency planning should be among school administrators and school board facilities’ top priorities. Unfortunately, the urgency of this need is rarely a top priority, putting students and staff at greater risk during a disaster. Lack of emergency preparedness is a serious problem which must be addressed by all schools and universities.
Considering the severity and number of recent disasters, educational facility managers must take note and begin applying the lessons learned from these tragic events. A disastrous example of this is Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, which was left in ruins by an E-F5 tornado that hit the town on May 20, two days prior to the second anniversary of the Joplin tornado. Another example from recent news is the collapse of the City Center building in Philadelphia in early June. These tragic events are not everyday occurrences; however, they serve as a wake-up call that emergency planning must remain a top priority to ensure the safety of all students and staff.
In order to mitigate risks associated with emergency evacuations, facility managers must challenge schools’ current emergency plans and protocols to ensure proper plans are in place. Plans are tedious and should not be approached lightly. Consider the following six best practices when developing or revising emergency evacuation plans to ensure schools are properly prepared for catastrophic events.
Plan for the worst-case scenario.
“it was a catastrophic event that no one could have expected.” These words, from Charles Copple, the retired Battalion Chief for the City of Joplin Fire Department, should serve as a reminder that facility managers must plan for the worst-case scenario. Over the past few years, the U.S. has experienced a record number of destructive natural disasters and, sadly, in recent years manmade disasters such as bomb incidents and active shooter incidents have increased dramatically, creating new worst-case scenarios that schools must consider in their evacuation planning. It seems with every week that goes by there are 10 or 15 bomb threats. While data on bomb incidents and threats in schools are limited, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recorded 1,055 incidents of bombs being placed on school premises from January 1990 to February 28, 2002. When developing school emergency plans, administrators must develop and plan for the worst-case which should include the loss of electric and use of elevators, hallways and stairs filled with debris, as well as the lack of outside support. The best plans look at those elements administrators are absolutely sure will be available to assist in their evacuation and plan for those not being there. Do your plans address the worst-case scenario?
Assess risks of geographic vulnerabilities.
When it comes to preparing for disasters, facility managers cannot simply rely on the calendar or local forecast; they must rely on the need to be prepared for a multitude of disasters, both natural and manmade. Almost one-fourth of all significant tornadoes occur in Tornado Alley, yet the vast majority of high fatality tornadoes in recent years have occurred in areas such as the southeastern United States where tornadoes are an especially rare event on any given day.
Evacuation protocols should be reviewed annually – if not, they are likely outdated.
There are no nationally-adopted emergency management standards for schools, meaning each school district is on its own to keep up with the evacuation protocol changes. Protocols have changed considerably since 9/11 – for example, “shelter-in-place” procedures are still widely used among facilities when, in fact, sheltering in place is one of the most misunderstood and applied protocols. For the majority of evacuation scenarios, “shelter-in-place” is not recommended by government agencies or emergency planning professionals. Of those people with disabilities that followed the “shelter-in-place” protocol during 9/11, not a single one survived. Leaving staff and students with a disability or injury behind while the ambulatory move to safety is an antiquated evacuation protocol that needs to be changed.
Ensure plans address all individuals’ needs, including those with disabilities.
Ushering hundreds of people from a school building takes serious coordination and planning. Do the protocols, plans and drills incorporate those with a disability or injury? What happens when an individual is in a wheelchair or on crutches? While schools are required to conduct periodic evacuation and safety drills, many fail to include those individuals and staff with special-needs in their planning process or in evacuation drills. This creates a serious gap in any organization’s emergency preparedness; it is critical to integrate the needs of persons with disabilities into the planning process AND during drills. Adding this to the formula will ensure better plans and more realistic drills.
Ensure evacuation equipment supports the plan.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines have become the de facto “best design practices” for making public schools accessible to individuals with special needs or disabilities. It is an ADA requirement that these individuals not only have access to the facilities, but that they can get out in an emergency. The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) recommends plans should include procedures, equipment and training for evacuating school occupants – including special needs and disabled students and staff – in a variety of emergencies and building conditions and by a variety of routes. In large-scale evacuation scenarios, having the right evacuation equipment is critical. When evaluating equipment, facility managers should choose a manufacturer that will partner with them to assess true needs of the facility, provide accessible and intuitive equipment that works under their worst-case scenario. Avoid carry and wheeled devices; these can be dangerous for both the individual as well as staff in the case of evacuating over debris-filled hallways. The best evacuation equipment needs to be non-lift, slide devices that address both vertical and horizontal evacuation needs.
Be realistic in training and drills.
Protocols and equipment are critical to a school’s emergency preparedness, but protocols are only as good as the training and drills conducted. Existing research suggests that realistic drills can increase individuals’ knowledge and skills of how to respond in an emergency, without elevating their anxiety or perceived safety. Evacuations do not happen in a perfect environment, so make them as real as possible. Fire and police departments urge school districts to be self-sufficient in case first responders don’t arrive in time for an evacuation. When running a drill do not assume assistance from first responders; create a chaotic environment – pipe in noise, turn off the lights, shut down the elevators – and include those with disabilities. Create an environment that will truly prepare occupants of the building for a real world evacuation.
Developing a partnership with a school’s equipment manufacturer is critical. Having that extra support can ensure facility managers, school and hospital administrators and safety professionals are committed and passionate about emergency preparedness.
Read the full article from American School & Hospital Facility here.