Emergency Action Plan Template

Emergency action plans are written procedures to deal with emergency situations (injuries, fires, etc.) specific to the location of your pole studio.

In a previous post, we reviewed the essentials of an emergency action plan for your pole studio. Here, we provide a template for you to use in creating your own emergency action plan.

Please review the specifics of your pole studio’s physical location and local county/state requirements. If you have multiple studios, you should have a separate plan for each studio location. Post the plan in a visible and accessible location in your pole studio.

(The following template has been adopted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Action Plan Standard, 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.38. OSHA also provides tools to “Create your Own EAP”) 

Emergency Action Plan

for

(Pole Studio Name/Location)

Last Revised: (Date)

I. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the (Pole Studio Name) Emergency Action Plan is to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Action Plan Standard, 29 CFR 1910.38, and to prepare employees for dealing with emergency situations. This plan is designed to minimize injury, loss of human life, and company resources by training employees, procuring and maintaining necessary equipment, and assigning responsibilities. This plan applies to all emergencies that may reasonably be expected to occur at (Pole Studio Name/Location).

II. ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY

(Owner/Manager) will manage the Emergency Action Plan for (Pole Studio Name). They will also maintain all training records pertaining to this plan. The plan manager is responsible for scheduling routine tests of the (Pole Studio Name & Location) emergency notification system with the appropriate authorities.

The plan manager will also coordinate with local public resources, such as fire department and emergency medical personnel, to ensure that they are prepared to respond as detailed in this plan. This includes allowing emergency responders to perform a walkthrough of the pole studio.

III. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

Reporting Fire and Other Emergency Situations

All fires and other emergency situations will be verbally reported as soon as possible to (Owner/Manager).

If (Owner/Manager) is not onsite, employees may then contact emergency responders.

Contact information for the emergency response personnel for (Pole Studio Name/Address/Location):

 

Type of Emergency Responder	Person(s) Responsible for Contacting Emergency Responders	Contact Information for Owner/Manager(s)
Fire
Police/Sheriff
Ambulance/EMS

 

Provide the emergency responder with the following details: (address and contact info of the studio, special directions or instructions for accessing the studio).

Informing (Pole Studio Name) Employees and Clients of Fires and Other Emergency Situations

In the event of a fire or other emergency situation, (Owner/Manager) or employee onsite will ensure that all employees and clients are notified as soon as possible using (alarm system, word of mouth, etc.)

If a fire or other emergency situation occurs after normal business hours, (Owner/Manager(s)) will contact employees to provide future work status, depending on the nature of the situation.

Emergency Contact Information for Employees and Clients

(Owner/Manager(s)) will maintain a list of personal emergency contact information for all employees and clients and will keep the list in (Designated Area) for easy access in an emergency.

Evacuation Routes

Emergency evacuation escape route plans are posted in (Designated Areas) throughout (Pole Studio Location). In the event that a fire or emergency alarm is sounded or instructions for evacuation are given by (Owner/Manager), all employees and clients must immediately exit the building(s) at the nearest exits as shown in the escape route plans, and must meet as soon as possible at the (Designated Assembly Area). Close the doors (unlocked) as they exit the area.

Advanced Medical and Emergent Care

Under no circumstances may an employee provide advanced medical care and treatment. These situations must be left to emergency services professionals, who have the necessary training, equipment, and experience. Untrained people might endanger themselves or those they are trying to assist.

Under no circumstances will an employee attempt to fight a fire after it can no longer be put out with a fire extinguisher, nor will any employee attempt to enter a burning building to conduct search and rescue. These actions must be left to emergency services professionals (such as the fire department or emergency medical professionals) who have the necessary training, equipment, and experience to do so. Untrained people might endanger themselves or those they are trying to rescue.

Accounting for Employees/Clients After Evacuation

Once an evacuation has occurred, the (Owner/Manager(s)) and/or employees will account for each employee or client at the (Designated Assembly Area).

Re-entry

Once the building has been evacuated, no one may re-enter the building for any reason, except for designated and properly trained rescue personnel (such as fire department or emergency medical professionals). Untrained people might endanger themselves or those they are trying to rescue.

All employees must remain at the (Designated Assembly Area) until the fire department or other emergency response agency notifies (Owner/Manager) that either:

1. the building is safe for re-entry; or
2. the building or assembly area is not safe, in which case (Owner/Manager) will instruct personnel how or when to vacate the premises.

Sheltering in Place

In the event of certain situations at (Pole Studio Name/Location), authorities and/or (Owner/Manager) might determine that it is safer to remain indoors rather than evacuate. The (Owner/Manager) or employee onsite will announce shelter-in-place status by (public address system or other means of immediate notification available at worksite).

1. Close the business. If customers, clients, or visitors are in the building, they will be advised to stay in the building for their safety.
2. Unless there is an imminent threat, employees, customers, clients, and visitors will call their emergency contacts to let them know where they are and that they are safe.
3. Quickly lock exterior doors and close windows.
4. Gather essential disaster supplies (for example, nonperishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first-aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and plastic garbage bags), which are stored at (Designated Location), and will take them to the (Shelter-in-Place Location(s)) within the building.
5. All employees, customers, and visitors will move immediately to the (Shelter-in-Place Location(s)) within the building.
6. Write down the names of everyone in the room and will call the (Designated Emergency Contact outside the building) to report who is in the room, and their affiliations with (Pole Studio Name) (employee, client, customer).
7. Monitor telephone, radio, television and Internet reports for further instructions from authorities to determine when it is safe to leave the building.

Severe Weather

The (Owner/Manager) will announce severe weather alerts (such as tornados) by (public address system or other means of immediate notification available at the worksite). All employees, clients, and visitors will immediately retreat to the (Designated Area) until the threat of severe weather has passed as communicated by the (Owner/Manager).

Documentation

(Owner/Manager) or employee involved in an emergency situation will document the situation (complete injury report) and maintain records at (Designated Area).

IV. TRAINING

Employee Training

All employees will receive instruction on this Emergency Action Plan as part of new-employee orientation. Additional training must be provided at the following times:

1. when there are any changes to the plan or facility;
2. when an employee’s responsibilities change; and
3. annually, as refresher training.

Items for review during the training include fire-prevention practices, fire extinguisher locations/usage/limitations, protective actions. means of reporting fires and other emergencies,    individual responsibilities, alarm systems, escape routes and procedures,  emergency shut-down procedures, procedures for accounting for employees and clients,  sheltering in place, severe weather procedure, and documentation practices.

Drills

Drills for fire/evacuation and other emergency situations must be conducted at least annually and in coordination with local police and fire departments. Additional drills will be conducted if physical properties of the business change, processes change, or it is otherwise deemed necessary.

Training Records

(Owner/Manager) will document all training pertaining to this plan and will maintain records at (Designated Area).

V. PLAN EVALUATION

This Emergency Action Plan must be reviewed annually, or as needed if changes to the worksite are made, by (Owner/Manager). Following each drill and emergent situation, (Owner/Manager and Employee Representatives) will evaluate the effectiveness and any weaknesses in the plan, and will implement improvements.