February 22 , 2003
Saturday - 1:15 pm

Itasca,, IL. - The National Safety Council (NSC) on Friday called on all Americans to develop a "culture of preparedness" for emergencies. Tragic events like the stampede in a Chicago nightclub and the fire in Rhode Island, which together took over a 100 lives, can occur at any time. Alan C. McMillan, president of the National Safety Council, said, "The key for each

"We must all ensure that we each know how to respond in the event of any kind of emergency. Anticipating emergencies and planning a response can greatly lessen the extent of injuries and deaths."... Alan C. McMillan, President NSC

of us is to ensure that we understand how to respond in such an emergency."

"Our nation is already on heightened alert for emergencies that might be caused by hostile acts," he said. "We must all ensure that we each know how to respond in the event of any kind of emergency. Anticipating emergencies and planning a response can greatly lessen the extent of injuries and deaths," he said.

McMillan said that this week's events are a grim reminder to all business owners and operators of public facilities that they must regularly review their emergency plans. Every business should ensure that emergency response procedures are properly communicated and that employees are trained to direct and lead visitors and customers to a safe evacuation.

"Preparedness must become part of our culture and part of every public gathering," he said. "For example, every facility where the public gathers -- including public facilities, businesses and entertainment venues -- should have a plan in place to properly direct its employees, visitors and customers how to respond to an emergency and evacuate the premises, if necessary.

"An even simpler example is that many companies and organizations open every business meeting with an announcement of where emergency exits are located and how participants will leave the building in an emergency," McMillan said. "Every business, school and meeting place in America should have such a procedure in place."

"This culture of preparedness is especially important to every family," McMillan added. "Every family and dwelling in America should have an emergency plan in place that is understood and practiced by every family member or resident to ensure safe evacuation should an emergency strike."

McMillan said, "Individuals should take responsibility for their own safety as much as possible. That means that upon entering any building an individual should take note of the location of all exits; plan how to make an exit before an emergency occurs; consider others and make sure everyone in your party knows how they will exit and where to meet afterward; and once out of danger, stay out. Do not go back into a disaster site. Wait for fire and rescue personnel who are trained for emergencies."

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires most facilities with more than 10 employees to have a written emergency plan; in smaller facilities, the plan can be communicated orally. Whatever the size or type of an organization, top management support and the involvement of all employees is essential.

An effective emergency evacuation plan should outline the basic preparedness steps needed to handle emergencies at businesses and public venues. Although emergency response plans cannot be all-inclusive, they should provide appropriate guidance on what to do in an emergency. For example, a sound emergency response plan should include:

• Clear, written policies that designate a chain of command, listing names and job titles of the people (or departments) responsible for making decisions, monitoring response actions and recovering back to normal operations.
• Names of those who are responsible for assessing the degree of risk to life and property and who should be notified for various types of emergencies.
• Specific instructions for shutting down equipment and production processes and stopping business activities.
• Facility evacuation procedures, including a designated meeting site outside the facility and a process to account for everyone in the building after an evacuation.
• Procedures for employees who are responsible for shutting down critical operations before they evacuate the facility.
• Specific training and practice schedules and equipment requirements for employees who are responsible for evacuation control, rescue operations, medical duties, hazardous responses, fire fighting and other responses specific to the site.
• The preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies.

The National Safety Council, America's safety and health leader for 90 years, is a nongovernmental public service organization with 50 local chapters around the country and members representing 37,500 business and labor organizations, schools, public agencies and private groups.

For additional information on emergency preparedness, visit the NSC website.

Source of News Release:

National Safety Council
Web Site

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