Emergency management plan for tornado response at MWV facility

Emergency Plan

Business Name: MWV located in Covington VA

Number of Employees 190

Emergency management plan entails a system of managing resources, information analysis and decision making in the event of a tornado hitting the facility (Hubbard, 2009). The emergency management plan acts a guide to the responsible personal, the staff and residents within the facility on the steps to take upon the occurrence of a tornado. The emergency plan gives a description of the role that the pre-appointed Emergency Management Group (EMG) is expected to carry out in the event of a tornado. The Emergency Management group will serve as the overall authority over the activities in the facility relating to the occurrence of a tornado.

The emergency management policy is to ensure the safety of every individual within the facility and bring the facility to normal operations after an accident.

The head of the Emergency Management group is an appointed Incident Commander (IC) who serves as the facility's ground director in normal facility's operations. In the emergency plan, the IC supervises all technical aspects of the response to the incident. The EMG will provide support to the IC by allocating resource, providing an interface with the outside response organization, the media, the community and the regulatory agencies. The chair of the EMG is the director of operations in the facility and in-charge of all aspects of the emergency. The other members of the EMG are departmental managers and have the task and authority to:

Assess the short-term and long-term impact of the emergency,

Give and order to evacuate or shutdown the facility

Issues press briefs

Interact with partnering organizations and the media.

The facility emergency plan is for an expected tornado. In the event of a tornado, the designated safe point within the facility is the basement parking lot. The EMG and IC will coordinate activities concerning the incidence in the security room located in the building's basement packing.

Communication

Communication before, during and immediately after the incident will be between undertaken using contingency communication system. The IC will authorize the use of high frequency two way radios for external communication and issue group leaders with low frequency radio equipment for internal communication. The IC will use distinctly audible sirens and loud speakers to give orders for evacuation and shut down. This communications will be issued before the incident occurs. Using the high frequency radio the IC will communicate with:

Outside response organizations

Neighboring businesses

Media

Emergency responders

Government regulatory agencies

The above group shall be kept up-to-date with the situation in the facility and the support groups to be informed on the support the facility may require.

Life Safety

The IC in liaison with the EMG will assess the reports received from the national weather service and the capacity of the facility to with stand the expected magnitude hit. Before the storm hits the facility, the IC will issue an order to evacuate the work place and locate to an area designated. The IC will issue the order to evacuate in a systematic departmental order. The department staff will follow the leadership of appointed evacuation wardens. The evacuation wardens will have the responsibility over their respective departments and give reports to the EMG on their account for persons and their condition. Prior to the incident once the initial warning is issued the evacuation wardens will confirm that the evacuation routes are clear and unobstructed. Upon evacuation, the evacuation wardens will take an account of the personnel under their responsibility.

Property Protection

Prior to incident the IC will

Order for the shutdown of facility running equipment,

Call for a barricading of doors and windows,

Give instruction for movement of movable files and equipment to safe location. For the facility these will include financial, insurance and engineering records,

Covering and securing of facility equipment,

Identify source of backup equipment, parts and supplies.

Community Outreach

Before the incident the EMG will take up the responsibility to alert:

The partner emergency medical service provider,

Neighboring hospitals

Police and government agency that provides emergency assistance services

Telephone and electricity companies

The American Red Cross

Regular communication with the above mentioned personnel and group shall be maintained giving information on:

The level of damage sustained by the facility and the persons within the facility

The possible assistance required

The actions being taken to ensure the safety of those affected.

Recovery and Restoration

Immediately after the incidents the EMG and the IC will take up an exercise to:

Take a record of the extent of damage to the facility

Check redundancy and to ensure adequate backup

Repair or replace equipment

Relocate operations to an alternate location

Contract operations on a temporary basis

Protect undamaged property.

In order to bring the facility back to its normal operations, a special team of personnel consisting of the EMG members shall be constituted. The team shall undertake to the responsibility of restoring the functions of the facility and those of the staff to normal. The team shall:

Continue to ensure the safety of the personnel and property

Determine likely dangers in the facility owing to the tornado

Conduct employee briefing

Keep records of all measures taken to restore the facility back to normal

Protect undamaged assets

Value the damage to property and recommend restoration measures

Administration and Logistics

The EMG shall oversee that during the incidence:

All communication are recorded

A detailed report of the event is kept

A record of the injuries sustained and actions taken is kept

Issues a report and evidence on measures taken to minimize damage to personnel and facility

That the facility documents are safely kept

The resource available for emergency are utilized and records maintained for accountability

In the course of the incident, the EMG will ensure that:

The emergency medical supplies are available to the staff in the facility

The backup communication and lighting equipment are available

The staff have sufficient nutritional supplies and adequate plans are in place to make requisitions