TOPIC 4 : EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSES (EPR) AND FIRE SAFETY

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY

Accident unexpected event which cause damage@ harm. Happens by chance.

Emergency an unforeseen combination of circumstances @ the resulting state that calls for
immediate action.

Disaster a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage , loss @ destruction

Emergencies can create a variety of hazards for workers in the impacted area. Preparing before
an emergency incident plays a vital role in ensuring that employers and workers have the
necessary equipment, know where to go, and know how to keep themselves safe when an
emergency occurs. These Emergency Preparedness and Response pages provide information on
how to prepare and train for emergencies and the hazards to be aware of when an emergency
occurs. The pages provide information for employers and workers across industries, and for
workers who will be responding to the emergency.

For information on how to get started with preparing for an emergency, visit the
"Getting Started - General Preparedness and Response" section. This section
provides information for general businesses and for workers who will respond to
the emergency. The information in this section is designed to apply to a wide
variety of emergency preparedness and response incidents. For guidance on a
particular type of emergency, visit our Natural Disaster or Specific Hazards Web
pages.

WHY PREPARE FOR AN EMERGENCY

There are unaccounted , unplanned & unexpected event

Accidents happen at any time and emergency situation is chaotic.

Emergency often escalates to crisis.

Regulatory and industry requirement eg CIMAH Regulations, 1996.

Responsible care OHSAS 18000, ISSO 14000 , etc

Communities are affected by emergencies

TYPES OF EMERGENCY
Chemical Emergency
Chemicals are a natural and important part of
our environment. Even though we often don't
think about it, we use chemicals every day.
Chemicals help keep our food fresh and our
bodies clean. They help our plants grow and fuel
our cars. And chemicals make it possible for us

How You May Be Exposed to a Chemical

You may be exposed to a chemical in three ways:

Breathing the chemical

Swallowing contaminated food, water, or medication

Chemical Accidents Can Be Prevented

Chemicals are found everywhere in our kitchens, medicine cabinets, basements,

and garages. In fact, most chemical accidents occur in our own homes. And they
can be prevented.

Did you know that if a fire starts in your home, you

may have just two minutes to escape?

Fire

The most effective way to protect yourself and your

home from fire is to identify and remove fire hazards.
60 percent of house fire deaths occur in homes with no
working smoke alarms. During a home fire, working
smoke alarms and a fire escape plan that has been
practiced regularly can save lives.

Fire Safety Tips

If a fire occurs in your home, GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL for help.

Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.

Test smoke alarms once a month, if theyre not working, change the batteries.

Talk with all household members about a fire escape plan and practice the plan twice a year.

Earthquake

An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the earth

caused by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath
the earths surface. Earthquakes strike suddenly,
without warning, and they can occur at any time of the
year, day or night. Forty-five states and territories in
the United States are at moderate to very high risk of
earthquakes, and they are located in every region of
the country
Are You at Increased Risk from Earthquakes?
Contact your local emergency management office, local American Red Cross, state geological survey
or department of natural resources for specific information about your communitys risk. However, bear
in mind:

Mobile homes and homes not attached to their foundations are at particular risk during an
earthquake.

Buildings with foundations resting on landfill and other unstable soils are at increased risk of
damage.

Did You Know?

Doorways are no stronger than any other part of a structure so dont rely on them for protection! During
an earthquake, get under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on. It will help shelter you from falling
objects that could injure you during an earthquake
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Emergency Management
commitment

Emergency
Coordinator

Incident command
organization
Emergency
Management
Committee
To plan for:

Take control during incident

Function :
-Command
-Operation
-Planning

-Mitigation
-Preparedness
-Response

-Logistic
-Admin/ finance

Workplace Emergency
A workplace emergency is an unforeseen situation that threatens workers, customers, or the public; disrupts or
shuts down operations; or causes physical or environmental damage. Some examples of workplace emergencies
include:
fires chemical spills workplace
violence severe winter storms
floods bomb threats medical
emergencies unknown toxic
substances

Vehicular accidents explosions

power failure suspicious packages
equipment/machinery failure armed
robberies pandemics (i.e. influenza,
H1N1, etc.)

Emergency Management Coordinator and Task

Administer and keep current the emergency management programed

Work with Emergency Management Committee

TASK OF THE INCIDENT ORGANISATION

Identify level of emergency response

Coordinates response action, evacuation, continuity and recovery

activities.

Ensure outside assistance are notified or called upon.

Work with external agencies.

Complies with appliance statutes or regulations.

INCIDENT COMMAND OPERATIONS TEAMS

Depends on the organization, activities and products. For example:
Most organizations will need a team of :
- Fire fighter
- Evacuation rescuers
- First aiders
Hazardous chemical plant
- Chemical or oil spill team
Process plant
- Shut down team
- Rescue team
BASIC OF FIRE

These three elements make up what is

commonly called the fire triangle. Fire
can only occur when the three elements
are present and in the proper conditions
OXYGEN - The air we breathe is about 21 % oxygen. Fire requires an atmosphere with at
and
proportions.
If anyinone
these
least 16 % oxygen. This means that
oxygen
is always present
the of
home.
If, however, you
factors
ishave
taken
away,
firestep
cannot
begin
or fire
can separate the other two elements,
you will
taken
the first
towards
effective
prevention.
in the case of an already burning
fire, extinguishment will occur.

in the United States, yet most people ignore it. Knowing the basic principles of fire can
HEAT - Heat is the energy necessary to increase the temperature of the fuel to a point where sufficient vapors are
given off for ignition to occur. Examples of possible heat sources include:

FUEL - Fuel can be any combustible material in any state of matter - solid, liquid, or gas. Most solids and liquids
become a vapor or gas before they will burn. Examples of possible fuels located within a common home

include:

CLASS OF FIRE
Understanding the basic principles behind how fire starts can give you an edge...in PREVENTING fires. Never FIGHT a fire if:
- the fire is spreading beyond the spot where it started.
- you can't fight the fire with your back to an escape exit.
- the fire can block your only escape.
- you don't have adequate fire-fighting equipment and training.
In ANY of these situations, DON'T FIGHT THE FIRE YOURSELF. CALL FOR HELP!

Class A: Ordinary combustibles

Class A fires consist of ordinary combustibles such as wood, paper, fabric, plastic, and most kinds of
trash
Class B: Flammable liquid and gas
These are fires whose fuel is flammable or combustible liquid or gas. The US system designates all
such fires "Class B". In the European/Australian system, flammable liquids are designated "Class B",
while burning gases are separately designated "Class C". These fires follow the same basic fire
tetrahedron (heat, fuel, oxygen, chemical reaction) as ordinary combustible fires, except that the fuel in
question is a flammable liquid such as gasoline, or gas such as natural gas. A solid stream of water
should never be used to extinguish this type because it can cause the fuel to scatter, spreading the
flames. The most effective way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is by inhibiting the chemical
chain reaction of the fire, which is done by dry chemical and Halon extinguishing agents, although
smothering with CO2 or, for liquids, foam is also effective. Halon has fallen out of favor in recent times
because it is an ozone-depleting material; the Montreal Protocol declares that Halon should no longer
be used. Chemicals such as FM-200 are now the recommended halogenated suppressant.
Class C or Class E: Electrical
Electrical fires are fires involving potentially energized electrical equipment. The US system designates
these "Class C"; the Australian system designates them "Class E". This sort of fire may be caused by
short-circuiting machinery or overloaded electrical cables. These fires can be a severe hazard to
firefighters using water or other conductive agents: Electricity may be conducted from the fire, through
water, to the firefighter's body, and then earth. Electrical shocks have caused many firefighter deaths.
Electrical fire may be fought in the same way as an ordinary combustible fire, but water, foam, and
other conductive agents are not to be used. While the fire is or possibly could be electrically energized,
it can be fought with any extinguishing agent rated for electrical fire. Carbon dioxide CO2, NOVEC 1230,
FM-200 and dry chemical powder extinguishers such as PKP and even baking soda are especially
suited to extinguishing this sort of fire. PKP should be a last resort solution to extinguishing the fire due
to its corrosive tendencies. Once electricity is shut off to the equipment involved, it will generally
become an ordinary combustible fire. In Europe "Electrical Fires" are no longer a class of fire as
electricity can not burn. The items around the electrical sources may burn. By turning the electrical
source off, the fire can be fought by one of the other class of fire extinguishers
Class D: Metal
Class D fires consist of combustible metals such as magnesium, potassium, titanium, and zirconium.[3]

With the exception of the metals that burn in contact with air or water (for example, sodium), masses of
combustible metals do not represent unusual fire risks because they have the ability to conduct heat
away from hot spots so efficiently that the heat of combustion cannot be maintainedthis means that it
will require a lot of heat to ignite a mass of combustible metal. Generally, metal fire risks exist when
sawdust, machine shavings and other metal 'fines' are present. Generally, these fires can be ignited by
the same types of ignition sources that would start other common fires.
Water and other common firefighting materials can excite metal fires and make them worse. The NFPA
recommends that metal fires be fought with "dry powder" extinguishing agents. Dry powder agents work
by smothering and heat absorption. The most common of these agents are sodium chloride granules
and graphite powder. In recent years powdered copper has also come into use.
Some extinguishers are labeled as containing dry chemical extinguishing agents. This may be confused
with dry powder. The two are not the same. Using one of these extinguishers in error, in place of dry
powder, can be ineffective or actually increase the intensity of a metal fire.
Metal fires represent a unique hazard because people are often not aware of the characteristics of
these fires and are not properly prepared to fight them. Therefore, even a small metal fire can spread
and become a larger fire in the surrounding ordinary combustible materials. Only dry powder should
ever be used to extinguish a metal fire.
Class K or Class F: Cooking oils and fats (kitchen fires)
Class K fires involve unsaturated cooking oils in well-insulated cooking appliances located in
commercial kitchens.[4]
Fires that involve cooking oils or fats are designated "Class K" under the American system, and "Class
F" under the European/Australasian systems. Though such fires are technically a subclass of the
flammable liquid/gas class, the special characteristics of these types of fires, namely the higher flash
point, are considered important enough to recognize separately. Water mist can be used to extinguish
such fires. Appropriate fire extinguishers may also have hoods over them that help extinguish the fire.

EMERGENCY AND FIRE SAFETY PLANNING

A plan which provides occupant information for control of fire hazards, maintenance of
fire protection systems, and evacuation procedures for their building

Identification of vital personnel (core team) systems, operations and equipments.

Priorities for restoration and mitigation.

Acceptable downtime before restoration to a minimum level.

Minimum resources needed to accomplish the restoration.

Below is the strategy of emergency planning

PLAN

Written plans
-

Strategic

Operations

Mitigations

Recovery plans

Roles and responsibilities

-

Incident commander, recovery manager, communication and public

relations.

Lines of authority

EMERGENCY OPERATING MANUALS

For refer during an emergency.

Who does what, information and data.

Balance between overview and detailed response.

Need to know, nice to know.

Sound understanding enables flexibility.

simple language

INCIDENT PROCEDURES

Control of access to the area.

Identification of personnel at the incident

Accounting for personnel in incident activities.

Accounting for person affected, displaced, or injured by the emergency.

Mobilization and demobilization of resources.

TRAINING

Familiarization
-

Manual familiarization, specific

decontamination, media etc)

Personnel readiness
-

Know the fundamental role

Know your way around the manual.

Have your personal aid ready

Know the early action well.

Ensure alternate is ready.

courses

chemical

fire,

rescue,

EXERCISE AND DRILLS

Types and subjects

-

Types : Simulated, Real

Subjects : Operational, security, Commercial.

Preparation for exercise

-

Scenarios, timing of events, roles ( including media ) and resources.

Secret but forewarn other parties as necessary.

EVALUATION

Plan should be reviewed annually and updated as necessary.

Be re- evaluated when :

-

There are changes ( Regulatory, new hazard, existing hazard changes )

Resources or organizational structure change.

After test, drills or exercise

After disaster responses

Infrastructure changes.

FIRE SAFETY

ire Safety topics are fire department members known as Fire Prevention Ofcers. The Chief Fire Prevention
fire hazards. A fire hazard may include a situation that increases the likelihood a fire may start or may imp
ned during the construction of a building or implemented in structures that are already standing, and thos
fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent ignition of an uncontrolled fire, and th
A fire safety plan is required by all North American national, state and provincial fire codes
based on building use or occupancy types. Generally, the owner of the building is responsible for
the preparation of a fire safety plan. Buildings with elaborate emergency systems may require
the assistance of a fire protection consultant. After the plan has been prepared, it must be
submitted to the Chief Fire Official or authority having jurisdiction for approval. Once approved,
the owner is responsible for implementing the fire safety plan and training all staff in their duties.
It is also the owners responsibility to ensure that all visitors and staff are informed of what to do

in case of fire. During a fire emergency, a copy of the approved fire safety plan must be available
for the responding fire department's use.

Fire safety plan structure

Key contact information

Utility services (Including shut-off valves for water, gas and electric)

Access issues

Dangerous stored materials

Location of people with special needs

Connections to sprinkler system

Layout, drawing, and site plan of building

Maintenance schedules for life safety systems

Personnel training and fire drill procedure

Create safe haven (zone)

Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the
fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire
triangle).

Fire protection
It is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires.
It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation
of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production,
testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based, offshore or
even ships, the owners and operators are responsible to maintain their facilities in
accordance with a design-basis that is rooted in laws, including the local building code and
fire code, which are enforced by the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Buildings must be
constructed in accordance with the version of the building code that is in effect when an
application for a building permit is made. Building inspectors check on compliance of a
building under construction with the building code. Once construction is complete, a building
must be maintained in accordance with the current fire code, which is enforced by the fire
prevention officers of a local fire department. In the event of fire emergencies, Firefighters,
fire investigators, and other fire prevention personnel called to mitigate, investigate and learn

from the damage of a fire. Lessons learned from fires are applied to the authoring of both
building codes and fire codes