Getting to know your local first responders before an emergency happens is good business. Use the following checklist to help plan your interactions with them.

Actions to Take Before an Emergency:

First responders offer many public service and outreach programs, all designed to help forge good relations with members of the community. Contact your local fire, Emergency Medical Services, and law enforcement agencies to learn about these programs and how they can benefit your organization. Take these actions:

• Check the local and regional government’s emergency management plans. These plans identify hazards, including climate hazards, that may impact the area.
• Have you reviewed these plans to gain insight into the priorities and actions you can expect public officials and agencies to take if a wide-scale catastrophe occurs?
• Have you used this information to augment the list you developed of work and community-specific hazards that are facing your organization?
• Have you contacted first responder organizations in your area and asked if there are opportunities to join training exercises with local businesses, institutions, and schools? Such collaboration will help your organization develop a positive relationship with first responders in your neighbourhood.

Contact the fire department and schedule meetings to discuss community outreach programs. Which ones could you host at your facility?

• Fire safety checks.
• Review your fire response plan.
• Observe an evacuation or shelter-in-place exercise.
• Training programs for personnel on the use of fire extinguishers.
• Evacuation procedures including assembly areas.
• Conduct pre-fire planning.

Law enforcement agencies often provide many security services. Check the ones you have taken advantage of in the past 12 months. These may include:

• A security survey covering locks, lighting, and access routes to your facility.
• Information on the level of crime in the area.
• Best places to park.
• Guidance on areas to avoid, especially at night.
• Recommendations for personnel and guest safety in and around your facility.
• How to deal with disgruntled/dismissed personnel members.
• What to do if you suspect employee theft.
• The best way to report suspicious activities.

Emergency Medical Service groups provide various services. Your organization may consider scheduling the following:

• First aid and CPR training.
• Programs dealing with medical emergencies at the workplace.

Hospitals and medical centres offer onsite lectures and training. Indicate the topics that could be covered in a setting such as ‘lunch-and-learn seminars’ over the next year. Topics may include:

• Health screening programs.
• No cost/low-cost public awareness seminars on health issues.
• Information on how to avoid stress in the workplace.

Your local health department, the Red Cross and various non-profit organizations provide ongoing education on community health issues. Indicate which actions you are planning to take in the next twelve months:

• Hold a seminar before flu season on coping with epidemics and pandemics.
• Contact your local Red Cross branch about disaster preparedness and emergency training that might be available.
• Information about certification in First Aid and CPR is available at American Red Cross- Take a Class or Workplace and Corporate First Aid Courses – Canadian Red Cross. If you have personnel who use service animals, hold an orientation on how to care for service animals and pets during a prolonged crisis.
• If floods are a concern, ask your local Emergency Management Office to provide a speaker on their plans for coping with flood events.
• Keep in touch with your local Red Cross branch. They may offer presentations suitable for educational meetings that review safety procedures both at work and at home.
• Start a program that encourages community volunteerism.

Action to Take During an Emergency:

Be prepared to quickly and clearly brief first responders on the nature of the emergency. During an emergency, are you prepared to answer the following questions?

• What is the nature of the emergency, when did it happen, and where did it occur?
• In the event of a fire, tell responders if anyone is still in the building, their location, and if they need assistance.
• Be prepared to state if utilities such as gas and electricity have been shut off.
• Include a floor plan in your Emergency Action Plan that shows the layout of the facility including the basement, entrances and exits, and make it available to arriving responders. If you have facility keys, turn them over as well.
• If hazardous or flammable materials are stored onsite, notify first responders. If so, where are they kept? If Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available, present them.
• Are there any priority objects or materials onsite (e.g., precious metals, historic relics, religious objects, etc.)? If so, notify the fire department of their location.
• During a medical emergency, provide arriving EMS personnel with as much detail as possible on the person’s condition.
• If criminal activity has occurred (e.g., violence in the workplace), provide police with detailed descriptions of the people involved, their location, and the nature of the event.

If you have people with disabilities or special needs at the assembly area, in a shelter, or elsewhere in the facility, provide first responders with as much information as possible on their location and condition.

If forced to evacuate your work area and move to either a shelter or an offsite assembly area, are you able to answer questions relating to the number of people on site that qualify as:

• Older adults.
• People with service animals.
• People with mobility limitations.
• People with cognitive disabilities.
• Hearing impaired.
• Visually impaired.
• People with severe allergies or chemical sensitivities.
• People who may not speak the dominant language.

After an Emergency:

Wait for the site to be declared safe to re-enter. Remember that first responders are not responsible for restoring services to your facility.

Are you prepared to dispatch a damage assessment team and bring the emergency to an end? To accomplish this, you need to be prepared to implement the following measures:

• An assessment team equipped to make determinations on the degree of damage suffered by equipment and other infrastructure.
• Someone representing or in contact with the building owner if the facility is leased or rented.
• Someone familiar with the process for re-starting various utilities including electric and gas services.

Review this checklist before and after emergency exercises and events to determine your level of preparedness to work with first responders.