Evacuation Planning

Each facility should have a written plan for the orderly evacuation of each building at a facility. The plan should establish the necessary procedures for fire emergencies, bomb threats, etc. Each employee 

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Use personal protective equipment Provide sufficient bottled air/SCBA Develop emergency response procedures Develop appropriate evacuation plans... 

Evacuation plans indicating planned routes from the plant site... 

The contingency plan must include an evacuation plan for facility pcrsoiuicl if the possibility exists that c acuation might become necessary. The evacuation plan must describe signal(s) lo be used to begin evacuation, evacuation routes, and alternate c acuation routes (in cases where prinuiry routes could be blocked by releases of hazardous wastes or fires) ... 

Evacuation plans llial include provisions for a precaulionary evacualion and allemalive Iraffic routes... 

The LEPC (see Cliapter 3) has developed warning systems, evacuation plans, and shclter-in-place instructions. Individual citizens can also ask lire local plant to explain how tlicir emergency response plans mesh witli lire LEPC. The plant must immediately report all incidents of chemical releases to the NRC, tire SERC, and tire LEPC. 

You are developing emergency evacuation plans for the local community downwind of your plant. One scenario identified is the rupture of an ammonia pipeline. It is estimated that ammonia will release at the rate of 10 lb/s if this pipeline ruptures. You have decided that anyone exposed to more than 100 ppm of ammonia must be evacuated until repairs are made. What evacuation distance downwind will you recommend ... 

A first-order estimate of the impacts of the flood scenario can be obtained through an evaluation of the flood depth map after it has been overlaid onto an electronic version of a standard topographic map that depicts roads, buildings, and public facilities. Such maps are useful for preparing evacuation plans and selecting locations for roadblocks. The FLDWAV output files may be consulted to determine the time characteristics of the flood, such as the time from the dam breach to the onset of flooding, and the duration of flooding. 

The operators were afraid to use the nearby telephone to raise the alarm or to start their truck because they could be ignition sources, so they walked to the pump house, which took 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes after that, the refinery firefighters arrived and again failed to close the valves. The refinery had a well-rehearsed evacuation plan, and effort to stop nearby traffic was initiated. A local road was not closed in time and, 35 minutes after the initial release, the propane cloud was ignited by a car on the road 4,120 ft (1,250 m) away. 

Kisko, T.M., and Erancis, R.L. 1985. EVACNET-F A Computer Program to Determine Optimal Building Evacuation Plans. Fire Safety Journal, pp. 9, 211. 

Documentation of hazardous chemicals with potential to leave the site, and evacuation plan for affected areas. 

Evacuation Plans. Many emergency events require the evacuation of at least some facility personnel, if only for precautionary reasons. This presents other needs, which must be addressed in the evacuation plan. Personnel who are directed to evacuate their normal work stations need visible wind direction indicators to help them move away from a dangerous gas cloud drifting downwind of the release point. If the building is enveloped in the cloud, however, they will need personal protective equipment in order to evacuate the building safely. When there are processes that must be rapidly shut down and/or isolated as evacuation proceeds, the plan must include written procedures and appropriate means to ensure incident-free action. 

Headcount Plan. The evacuation plan also must establish gathering points for all personnel... 

Disaster planning must include a community mutual aid plan in the event that the hospital (s), nursing home(s), or other residential health care facility needs to be evacuated. Plans for evacuation of health care facilities must be realistic and achievable, and contain sufficient specific detail as to where patients will be relocated to and who will be there to care for them. Patient evacuation was a major challenge to disaster response efforts following Hurricane Katrina, and was hampered by the destruction of all major transportation routes in and out of the city. Pre-planning for the possibility of the need to evacuate entire health care facilities must address alternative modes of transportation and include adequate security measures (see Figure 1.4). 

Find out whether the area where people live is at risk for wildfire and develop a family wildfire evacuation plan (FEMA, 2006c). 

The application of simulation to a disaster event can be as simple as using the simulators to drill evacuation procedures at a long-term care (ETC) facility. With hurricane season on us, several ETC organizations will begin to work with their staff to do just that. By programming the simulators to be elderly with chronic conditions and adding a nasal O2 mask, staff will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their evacuation plan. Or perhaps the placement of patient simulators within a hospital itself... 

Since children spend the majority of the day at school, community preparation for a threat must include the local educational system. Development of a rapid evacuation plan and the establishment of in-school shelters are critical. Schools can play a valuable role for the management of pediatric casualties. 

The plan must include a list of all emergency equipment at tlie facility (such as fire cxtinguisliing systems, spill control equipment, internal and external communications and alarm s> stems, and dccontmnination equipment). In addition, the plan must include for each item on the list a physical description, a brief outline of its capabilities, and its location The contingency plan must include an evacuation plan for facility pcrsoiuicl if the possibility exists that e acuation might become neeessary. The evacuation plan must describe signal(s) to be used to begin evacuation, evacuation routes, and alternate e acuation routes (in cases where priniiiry routes could be blocked by releases of hazardous wastes or fires)" ... 

Evacuation plans tliat include provisions for a precautionary evacuation and iiltemative traffic routes... 

Facilitate response actions by making plans and gathering information in advance develop family communications plan plan for long-term shelter learn about appropriate kinds of medical treatment from medical professionals discover building evacuation plans and potential shelters. 

An emergency/evacuation plan should be established (see Section 3.6.4) and... 

We still consider evacuation a valid concept. There has been some misunderstanding as to the relationship between evacuation and shelter. In the early days of civil defense we advocated both. We still advocate both, in this sense—we say that every target area should have a well-developed evacuation plan in which the people are trained. Whether they are to be directed to use the plan, or to go to shelter, is a decision for local government, depending upon the circumstances of the threat and the availability of shelter. 

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