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What they should do is called sheltering-in-place. Keep reading to find out when it is used and how to prepare workers to do it.
Why Shelter-in-Place?
In some workplaces, shelter-in-place is the default response to an emergency, with evacuation as a backup measure no one wants to have to resort to. Generally, these workplaces—called shelter-in-place occupancies—involve patient or client populations that are difficult or dangerous to move. Common shelter-in-place facilities include:
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Prisons
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Situations may also arise in which workers are safer staying where they are than leaving the building. These may include:
- Active shooter situations, during which law enforcement will ask people to shelter-in-place in order to minimize targets for the shooter, and to enable police to search for the shooter without jeopardizing other people in the area.
- Environmental disasters—for example, a train wreck that releases hazardous chemicals may make leaving the building more dangerous than staying inside.
Shelter-in-Place Occupancies
At a shelter-in-place occupancy such as a hospital, workers may be required to stay put when there is an internal threat, such as a fire, that would normally result in evacuation. Because of this, these facilities are generally constructed with features that enable them to be compartmentalized in the event of a fire. The response to a fire in such a workplace is sometimes summarized by the acronym “RACE”: Rescue, Alarm, Confine, Extinguish/Evacuate.
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- Rescue: Remove anyone who is in immediate danger to a safe area—generally, an area beyond the nearest fire wall or fire door.
- Alarm: Activate the facility’s alarm, to let everyone know of the danger.
- Confine: Close doors to slow the spread of fire and smoke. Remove unneeded items from hallways and corridors in order to minimize the spread of fire and clear a path for emergency workers.
- Extinguish/Evacuate. If possible, extinguish the fire or wait for the all-clear signal; if not, prepare for evacuation.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at sheltering-in-place for active shooter or environmental contamination scenarios.