The plan is designed to address emergency action in the event of a fire, bomb threat, chemical or biological incident, potential major disaster, civil disturbances, blackout, and workplace violence.

The purpose of emergency action plan is to outline evacuation procedures to be implemented by government agencies, such as the fire department or police department, in the event of a fire in a high-rise building. It describes the initial responsibilities, and actions to be taken, to protect all employees until the appropriate municipal or governmental agencies take over.

Evacuations necessitated by an emergency must be carried out in an orderly manner to ensure safety of all employees/tenants and visitors. Failure to follow instructions given by the fire safety director (fire department), building security or the police department may result in injury or death. Established evacuation procedures ensure that people who are most likely to be affected by an emergency are able to escape from harm as quickly as possible.

It is the responsibility of the high-rise building staff, and the fire and police departments, to make sure that in the event of an emergency building occupants are directed to evacuate along a safe route, away from smoke, harmful chemicals, biological agents, bombs, or improvised explosive devices. The building owner can also take steps to protect employees from incidents of workplace violence.

It is vital that all tenants/employees working in the building know how they should respond in the event of an emergency. All such people should read the emergency action plan carefully. Questions regarding the emergency action plan should be directed to the building or fire safety director, and the building owner/coordinator.

All aspects of building evacuation, including evacuation to a specified floor, evacuation to re-entry floors, or complete evacuation to specified assembly points outside the building, will be implemented by the building owner in conjunction with the fire department, police department, and/or any other agencies having jurisdiction. In the event of a fire, the fire department is responsible for deciding whether the building should be totally evacuated.

Other incidents that might occur include bomb threats, chemical or radiological/biological incidents, natural disasters, civil disturbances, and workplace violence. During such occurrences, the building owner or his or her duly authorized representative, working in close cooperation with the police department and/or other city or governmental agencies, is responsible for deciding whether the building should be evacuated; and where the assembly points should be located.

Instructions for evacuation during various types of emergencies, such as on hearing the fire alarm, tell evacuees to proceed to the nearest fire stairwell, as they had been doing during fire drills, and to remain silent and listen to instructions from the designated or responsible person; unless otherwise directed, all employees should evacuate to the nearest stairwell and proceed to the designated re-entry floor. Building occupants using stairwells to access re-entry floors should follow the directions of the fire safety director who will issue instructions via the building intercom system.

The immediate objective of these procedures is to remove all personnel from the fire or smoke to a safer location. Under no circumstances shall anyone be evacuated to a floor that is on fire. On-site safety or security personnel are responsible for ensuring the above. Only emergency personnel from the police or the fire department may over-ride instructions from the fire safety director regarding evacuation destinations.

All physically challenged individuals who are unable to use the stairways are to report to the closest stairwell lobby to obtain assistance from pre-designated assistants or authorized emergency personnel. However, those who are able to use the stairways without obstructing others should do so.

In the event of other types of emergencies, including bomb threats, chemical, biological or radiological incidents, natural disasters, civil disturbances, or incidents of workplace violence, people in the high-rise buildings are to follow instructions given by the authorized emergency personnel. In these instances, the authority having jurisdiction may be the fire department, the police department, or other city or district governmental agencies.

Instructions for the complete evacuation of high-rise building occupants:

• Unless otherwise instructed, occupants should always proceed to the stairwell providing the most rapid exit. In most cases, this will be the nearest exit.
• Instructions may be received from the fire safety director via the building intercom system, or from the fire department. Designated building security personnel will also be available to assist with the evacuation.
• Once you leave your emergency stairwell, fire safety or security personnel will be posted to direct you to the designated assembly point.
• On leaving the building, unless otherwise instructed, all the people in the building should proceed to the designated primary assembly point.
• High-rise buildings should also have a designated alternate, or secondary assembly, point. When evacuation to the secondary assembly point is ordered, building security personnel will be posted along the evacuation route to act as guides.
• A policy should be implemented by the building owner whereby designated representatives from each floor are responsible for accounting for visitors and employees who have evacuated their assigned work locations. When building occupants reach the primary or secondary assembly point, their names will be checked against a list of floor occupants to ascertain whether every person has successfully evacuated the building. In the event that an occupants's name is not checked, contact information is included on the accountability sheet at the evacuation site so that designated representatives can attempt to locate the individual.

Building owners shall designate the relocation as moving to the nearest internal assembly point floor. Employees working on all floors should remain on their floors unless instructed to do otherwise. Should an incident occur in the basement, or on the first or second floor, and the building environment is considered to be untenable, occupants should evacuate to the street.

Of course, in the event of a serious or life-threatening emergency, all building occupants will be evacuated to the street. All evacuations will be conducted via the stairwells. Separate instructions should be established in response to a natural disaster, civil disturbance, and violence in the workplace.

There are security procedures in effect in high-rise buildings, to prevent an armed intruder from harming the occupants. At the present time, all visitors to a building must present photo identification to the security guard at the visitor's desk; they sign in and are then escorted to their destination by the employee they are visiting. Employees must present an access card to the access control reader, and proceed to their in-building destination.

In a nutshell, the safe and expedient evacuation of persons from threatened areas to areas of safety is the prime objective of the emergency action plan and should not be hampered in any way. It is the responsibility of all employees or personnel to report any condition that might be life threatening, or which might prevent the evacuation.

The effectiveness of the plan depends on persons who can exercise good judgment and remain calm during an emergency. A well-designed and implemented emergency action plan (EAP) can reduce the possibility of serious injury, property loss, or loss of life, and the potential for environmental pollution.

Mohammed Uddin is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.