IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, INVOLVE EVERYONE

May 1, 2005 12:00 PM, LARRY ANDERSON, Editor

A flying student and his instructor accidentally took their Cessna into airspace over Washington, D.C., this month, setting off multiple evacuations of our government buildings and activating other emergency response plans of the Red (“severe risk of terrorist attack”) variety.

Reports in the days following the incident seemed to indicate that everything basically worked as it was supposed to. We as a nation can take pride in improvements we have made in our response to such an emergency.

Apparently, however, the White House Press Corps — those dozens of top-of-their-game reporters who cover the President — did not get direct word about the emergency. Reportedly, at least some of them did not evacuate because they did not know about the threat until after the fact. An emergency public address system did not activate.

As a journalist, let me first propose that the safety of journalists should always be considered in any emergency situation. But beyond the possible (although in this case non-existent) danger to my colleagues is another, broader lesson to be learned from the episode.

The lesson is this: Have you considered every involved person or persons in your emergency response plan? For example, have you considered the needs of handicapped workers or visitors to your facility? Are temporary employees in the loop? Have you created systems to enable communication of life-saving information to anyone who might be on hand at your company during a time of emergency? Have you tested them lately?

Furthermore, what is the level of involvement of the various parties in planning a response to a possible emergency? Response plans cannot be passed down from the top in an organization. They must be planned and executed at the individual level, and every person should be involved and know what to do in an emergency. When the emergency happens, it is too late.

Most of our readers face levels of risk that pale by comparison to the possible threats to our nation's capital and those who work in government buildings.

But that doesn't change the need to make emergency plans that are commensurate with the nature of the possible emergencies. The planning should include every employee.

How long since your company had a fire drill?

YOUR THOUGHTS

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