LEARNING ACTIVITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Course: BEPE 120 Emergency Preparedness and Safety Management

Name: Camille U. Galiste
Professor: Christopher Pagulayan

1. Components of Emergency Preparedness

- Emergency preparedness must be a living and evolving process. Regular
reviews and updates account for changing tenants, situations and
threats. Recovery efforts are equally important. Getting employees back
into buildings safely, communicating restrictions and bringing in qualified
vendors to make repairs will all need to happen quickly. Consider all of
this when developing your preparedness plans.
1. Planning

Work through many emergency scenarios. The unexpected, the unheard of, the
“it could never happen here” – all should be considered in the development of
emergency preparedness plans.

2. Training

Both classroom and situational training are important to help those responsible
for executing the plan become knowledgeable, confident and prepared.

3. Drills
Bring those plans to life with physical drills involving all service providers:
security, janitorial, engineering, fire wardens and tenant representatives. Your
security team can help facilitate these drills.
4. Education
The integrators who install emergency systems need to actively participate in
educating security and management on the accurate and efficient use of those
systems.

5. Technology
Utilize technology to help consistently communicate emergency plans. Tools
such as these can be customized to meet the specific nuances of your property.
For example, develop a training CD or online module that houses floor plans,
evacuation routes and factors such as fire extinguisher locations.
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6. Coordination
In multi-tenant buildings, some may have their own emergency plans. Those
tenants should be applauded for their efforts but everyone needs to coordinate
plans to ensure there are no conflicts and to eliminate confusion during an
emergency.

7. Communication
Emergency plans should be communicated to anyone within your building as
well as local authorities. Sharing plans in advance will help ensure smooth
execution in an emergency situation. Your security team will most likely have a
relationship with local emergency services and can serve as a liaison.

2. Phases of Emergency Preparedness

- Prevention
Prevention focuses on preventing hazards from occurring, whether they
are natural, technological or caused by humans. Not all hazards are
preventable, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be limited with
good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design standards.

- Mitigation
Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening
the impact of disasters and emergencies. It refers to measures or actions
that can prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency or
reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. The
establishment of building codes and zoning requirements or the creation
of defensible space around homes to protect them from wildfire are
examples of mitigation efforts.

- Preparedness
Preparedness is a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training,
equipping, exercising, evaluating and taking corrective action. Training
and exercising plans is the cornerstone of preparedness, which focuses
on readiness to respond to all hazards, incidents and emergencies.
Training and emergency preparedness plans increase a community’s
ability to respond when a disaster occurs. Typical preparedness measures
include developing mutual aid agreements and memorandums of
understanding, training for both response personnel and concerned
citizens, conducting disaster exercises to reinforce training and test
capabilities, and presenting all-hazards education campaigns.

- Response
The response phase is a reaction to the occurrence of a catastrophic
disaster or emergency. It consists of actions which are aimed at saving
lives, reducing economic losses and alleviating suffering. The response
phase comprises the coordination and management of resources utilizing
the Incident Command System. Response actions may include activating
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the emergency operations center, evacuating threatened populations,

opening shelters and providing mass care, emergency rescue and
medical care, fire fighting, and urban search and rescue.

- Recovery
Recovery consists of those activities that continue beyond the
emergency period to restore critical community functions and begin to
manage stabilization efforts. The recovery phase begins immediately
after the threat to human life has subsided. The goal of the recovery
phase is to bring the affected area back to some degree of normalcy,
including the restoration of basic services and the repair of physical,
social and economic damages. Typical recovery actions include debris
cleanup, financial assistance to individuals and governments, rebuilding
of roads and bridges and key facilities, and sustained mass care for
displaced human and animal populations.