Tips: Workplace Emergency Preparedness

The National Crime Prevention Council offers tips to prepare for an emergency at work.

  • Know your company’s emergency plans. If your company does not have an emergency plan, volunteer to help develop one.
  • Support each other. Determine how you will help each other in the event that public transportation is down or thoroughfares are impassable. Are there employees who could temporarily house, transport, or feed other employees?
  • Know the exit routes and evacuation plans in your building. Know at least two exit routes from each room, if possible. Be able to escape in the dark by knowing how many desks or cubicles are between your workstation and two of the nearest exits.
  • Know the location of fire extinguishers and medical kits.
  • Make sure there is a designated meeting location and that every employee knows what it is.
  • Make special emergency plans for co-workers who are disabled or may require assistance during an emergency.
  • Never lock fire exits or block doorways, halls, or stairways. However, keep fire doors closed to slow the spread of smoke and fire.
  • Keep your own personal emergency supplies in a desk drawer. Consider a flashlight, walking shoes, a water bottle, and nonperishable food. Contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency for information on workplace emergency kits.
  • Have a printed list of important phone numbers (e.g., your spouse’s number at work, your children’s school numbers) at your desk. Do not rely on electronic lists, such as direct-dial phone numbers and computer organizers.

Featured

New Products

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.