Emergency planning aims to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of an emergency. Preparedness requires identifying what resources are needed and how to respond. Therefore, it involves accumulating knowledge and skills, information about the management of potential emergencies, providing and allocating facility resources and people to deal with the emergencies identified. These plans should also have a relationship with other management systems i.e. safety management, environmental management and risk management systems.
Emergency Plans are an important duty that every local church must, by law, prepare, maintain and implement. These procedures include;
Interpretations of the term 'emergency' may depend on a person's background and experience. In general, an emergency is a situation that harms (or threatens to harm) people, property or the environment. Therefore, every facility must develop an emergency plan to define those circumstances that constitute the activation of emergency procedures. A simple guide for an emergency is;
Levels of emergencies;
Level 1 - An incident that can be managed locally with resources and skills on-site.
Level 2 - An emergency that requires Emergency Services to attend.
Level 3 - An emergency that will impact the site and other sites beyond the boundary.
Types of emergencies
The types of emergencies to plan for may include fire, explosion, medical emergency, rescues, incidents with hazardous chemicals, bomb threats, armed confrontation and natural disasters.
The emergency plan should be based on a practical assessment of hazards associated with the activity of the church and the possible consequences of an emergency occurring as a result of those hazards.
External hazards should also be considered in preparing an emergency plan, for example, the chemical storage facility neighbouring the church site.
Preparation of the emergency Plan
Emergency planning should be a cyclical process, meaning that all the stages are inter-related and the plan details should be continually evaluated, revised and as appropriate, adjusted.
An emergency management committee should never find themselves off the wheel of emergency preparedness planning.
Consultation
An emergency plan should be done in consultation with all stakeholders affected by the plan. These may include facility personnel, neighbours, local authorities, the school campus or emergency services. Consider whether there are tenants that use your facility i.e. other denominational gatherings, community support groups, etc... These stakeholders may have an important addition to your plan that your safety team would not have considered due to the different times and effects that general life has on a gathering / event.
Writing the emergency plan
Specific emergency procedures are an important part of the emergency management system. They should be clear, simple, practical and achievable. They do not necessarily have to be lengthy or complex. In preparing the plan it needs to be tailored to the specific church considering relevant matters such as;
Not everyone has experience with health and safety so anybody should be able to pick up the document and understand it without much explanation.
Examples of important inclusions in an emergency plan
An emergency plan may include practical information such as;
Contacting Emergency Services
When an emergency occurs and emergency services are contacted, the operator often asks for specific information required to assist in dispatching the most appropriate response to your emergency. It is important that this information be at hand - a template poster can be found in the resource tab. Examples of this information can include;
If your site is attended to by emergency services, directions given by workers must be complied with.
Access to the Emergency Plan
Emergency plans should be readily accessible by all who attend the site. A summary of the key elements can be displayed on a noticeboard. Every time it is updated, it should be communicated with all relevant stakeholders and then practiced at the first opportunity.
Training in Emergency Procedures
Workers and volunteers must be adequately trained in emergency procedures. Arrangements for information, training and instruction must be set out in the emergency plan itself.
Training mechanisms may include but are not limited to;
Reviewing Emergency Plans
The currency of the emergency plans is important to ensure they remain effective. After an emergency it is important to debrief on what worked and what did not - this is information you would use to update and revise your emergency plan. Other factors may include but are not limited to;
