Procedures For The Identification Of Emergencies

Procedures For The Identification Of Emergencies Are Known And Followed Promptly And Correctly (SO2-AC3)

A workplace emergency is an unforeseen situation that threatens your employees, customers or the public. It may disrupt or shut down your operations. It may cause physical or environmental damage. Emergencies may be natural or manmade.
You may have processes or materials at your workplace which can prevent very specific hazards. The following questions are designed to identify those hazards:

• What type of accident or emergency could result if employees failed to follow specific safe work procedures or rules you established? Look at each rule, guideline, and practice which you have implemented. If any or all employees failed to follow your directions, list the possible outcomes. Are any special outcomes identified beyond a fire or accident requiring first aid? If so, list those.
• Do you have any chemicals, materials, or processes in your workplace that could lead to other types of emergency situations? For example, do you have any radioactive materials, or chemicals, which are hazardous if accidentally mixed together, such as acid and cyanide? Or do you have any processes which could cause explosions, releases of chemicals, etc.? To identify these hazard types you should look at manufacturers’ directions and specifications, and information on Safety Data Sheets.

By answering all the above questions as completely and thoroughly as possible, you should now have a list, specific to your workplace, of hazards that could cause an emergency. You can now use it as a basis for planning your response to each kind of emergency and for training your employees to respond properly. Emergency assistance personnel such as firefighters should also keep this information readily available for use.

When the fire alarm sounds, act immediately to ensure your safety:

The fire alarm is an early warning device to allow you to safely exit the building during an emergency situation.

• Never ignore or assume the alarm is false or the result of a test.
• Shut down equipment.
• Lock and secure cash drawers and valuables.
• Close (but do not lock) office doors, and
• Proceed to the nearest marked emergency exit on each floor.
• Never use an elevator to exit during fire alarm activation.
• Once outside the building, move away from the building. Assemble across the street or along the sidewalk of the adjacent building.
• Do not obstruct the front of the building; this is where the firefighters and fire trucks will be operating from.
• Once outside, never re-enter the building until the area has been declared safe to enter.