CBL Emergency Evacuation Plan

A. PURPOSE

This document describes the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) Emergency Evacuation Plan, including the basic procedures and responsibilities. Emergency Evacuation Plans are required by the OSHA standard: Employee emergency plans and fire prevention plans 29 CFR 1910.38

B. APPLICABILITY

1. The provisions of this Instruction are applicable to the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL).

2. Evacuation provisions are applicable to fires and other occurrences for which evacuation is appropriate, including low oxygen or hazardous material spills in buildings.

3. Shelter provisions are applicable to inclement weather conditions.

C. POLICY

It is CBL policy that personnel in a location where a fire emergency occurs will take the following actions:

1. Immediately activate the nearest pull station or sound the alarm and evacuate to the designated safe location while warning others.

2. Proceed to the designated safe location if the fire is beyond the incipient stage, significant smoke develops, or the fire starts to increase in size.

3. Report the emergency condition to the Calvert County Emergency Response dispatcher by telephone by dialing 911 from a safe location.

4. Fight the fire using a fire extinguisher only if it is still in the incipient stage (e.g., a trash can fire or a fume hood fire) and only if trained and qualified to do so.

5. Do not re-enter the building until the building is declared safe to re-enter.

It is CBL policy that personnel in the vicinity of a significant hazardous material spill or release will take the following actions:

1. Immediately activate the nearest pull station or sound the alarm and evacuate to the designated safe location while warning others.

2. Report the emergency condition to the Calvert County Emergency Response dispatcher by telephone by dialing 911.

3. Keep non-emergency personnel from entering the affected area.

4. Do not re-enter the building until the building is declared safe to exercise to practice and evaluate procedures related to potential campus emergencies.

Only Personnel who have received fire extinguisher training are qualified to use CBL fire extinguishers.

D. DEFINITIONS

• 1. Incipient Stage Fire; A fire in the initial or beginning stage which can be controlled or extinguished by portable fire extinguishers without the need for protective clothing or breathing apparatus (e.g., a trash can fire, less than 1 square meter, etc.). Typically, an incipient stage fire will be < 1 m2.
• 2. Qualified Personnel are those individuals who have received formal training in the use of fire extinguishers on the CBL campus.
• 3. S.T.E.E.P. or Safety Training in Emergency Evacuation Procedures is either an announced or unannounced exercise to practice and evaluate procedures related to potential campus emergencies.

E. RESPONSIBILITIES

Building Evacuation Monitors and Alternates

Direct and supervise the planned and controlled movement of all personnel out of CBL buildings. They will also direct and supervise the planned evacuation and controlled movements of personnel to shelters. Their duties are to:

1. Ensure that personnel move to the designated safe area on the sounding of an evacuation signal.

2. Ensure the safe flow of personnel along approved evacuation routes.

3. Check assigned area to ensure personnel have evacuated the area.

4. Assist persons with disabilities in accordance with preplanned procedures.

5. Recognize the presence of potential hazards and know the Building Evacuation Plan in order to provide appropriate direction to personnel.

6. Report any employees/visitors missing to the CBL Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.

7. Assist Emergency Response personnel in preventing unauthorized entry into buildings and loss or theft of federal, state and private property.

8. Cooperate with all emergency personnel.

9. Provide appropriate instructions when an emergency no longer exists and it is safe for personnel to return to vacated buildings or facilities.

Individual Employees are required to:

1. Know the evacuation procedure applicable to each of their work locations to ensure their individual safety in the event of an emergency. Know the location of fire alarm pull boxes.

2. When evacuation alarm sounds, stop work and turn off computers or any electrical device, if applicable, and immediately evacuate the building, assisting visitors, interns, etc., along the approved evacuation routes to a safe area. Do not use elevators. Do not lock office doors.

3. Report to the Building Evacuation Monitor once outside the building. Stay in the designated area until told to report to a shelter area or that the building is safe to re-enter by the Building Evacuation Monitor.

4. Maintain clear and unobstructed egress routes.

Supervisors:

1. Review the CBL Building Evacuation Plan with his/her employees. He or she will also review changes in either the employee's responsibilities or changes in the plan with employees.

2. Ensure that an evacuation procedure has been preplanned when a disabled individual is assigned to a duty location for the first time.

3. Ensure that a specific written procedure is prepared for any critical operation that would delay evacuation and that the procedure is approved by themselves, the Safety Committee Chairperson, and the CBL Director.

4. When an evacuation occurs, ensure that all employees are accounted for.

The CBL Safety Committee:

1. Assign Building Evacuation Monitors for each area, and ensure this responsibility is specified in the employee's performance plan.

2. Work with the CBL Associate Director of Facilities and Building Evacuation Monitors to develop a Building Evacuation Plan for each campus building.

3. Post evacuation routes throughout the building.

4. Post list of Building Evacuation Monitors in the Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response Plan.

5. Employees with disabilities have specific evacuation needs that require the attention of the CBL Safety Committee, the Human Resources Office, the immediate supervisor of the disabled employee, and the individual employee

CBL Systems Maintenance Team is responsible for:

1. Monitoring emergency alarms and providing initial response to these alarms.

2. Providing information to the responding Fire Department and coordinating recovery efforts upon arrival at the scene of the emergency

3. Preventing unauthorized entry into building and loss or theft of Federal, State, and private property

CBL Associate Director of Facilities:

1. Provide overall coordination for the preplanning of evacuations and preparation of Building Evacuation Plans with input from the Building Evacuation Monitors.

2. Approve all Building Evacuation Plans and subsequent revisions to these plans.

3. Ensure that any hazards which may affect life safety and evacuation procedures are addressed in the Building Evacuation Plan through annual safety reviews.

4. Conduct initial and annual information refresher to Building Evacuation Monitors

5. Ensure plans are reviewed

6. Update, and keep current, assignments of personnel to serve as Building Evacuation Monitors or Alternates and issue copies of this document and other pertinent data to newly assigned monitor personnel.

7. Provide hands-on training in the use of extinguishers to employees.

8. Respond to emergencies.

9. Coordinate with the officer-in-charge at the scene.

Campus Contractor's Representative: 1

• 1. The CBL Facilities Manager will act in this capacity and ensure that all contractors providing services to campus buildings are informed of evacuation procedures and the appropriate Building Evacuation Plan.

G. BUILDING EVACUATION PLANS

Building Evacuation Plans are required by OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.38. This section specifies the content of CBL Building Evacuation Plans. An evacuation plan will be developed for each building. This plan will be implemented when an emergency occurs in a building or area where individuals may be in danger. Individual Building Evacuation Plans are located in each campus building.

The CBL Safety Committee, Supervisors, and Building Evacuation Monitors is responsible for developing Building Evacuation Plans for each facility and/or building. Each plan will take into consideration potential hazards in the area, type of occupancy, research activities, daily activities, and personnel assigned to the area.

The plan is reviewed by the CBL Safety Committee and the lead Building Evacuation Monitor every year as a part of the STEEP exercise. The CBL supervisors and each Building Evacuation Monitor will have copies of the Building Evacuation Plan.

Evacuation Signals:

1. A fire alarm siren sounding within a building always means that employees must evacuate the building or facility. All campus buildings are equipped with fire alarm systems.

2. Escape Procedure and Routes:

1. In general, when the evacuation alarm is heard, a fire is seen, or another emergency condition becomes known, employees will promptly secure the equipment in use and vacate the premises to the designated safe area where they will remain until released by the Building Evacuation Monitor.

2. Employees will take the designated safe route to an exit, warning others along the way. The first to arrive at an evacuation alarm pull box or exit will sound the alarm and proceed to a safe location to make a telephone report.

3. The route followed during evacuation will be in accordance with designated Building Evacuation Plan or as directed by a Building Evacuation Monitor. (In the absence of a Monitor, supervisory personnel will assume the Monitor duties.).

4. Escape procedures and routes for persons with disabilities will be preplanned before the individual enters a building for the first time. (A specific written plan is required for personnel with disabilities to go above or below ground level and may also be required at ground level.)

Critical Operations

1. When someone is sounding the alarm and reporting the emergency due to a fire, employees qualified to use extinguishing equipment should delay evacuation only to fight incipient-stage fires.

2. All other delays in evacuation for a critical operation, other than switching to secure an operation that will result in only a very short delay, will be preplanned and covered by a specific procedure which is approved by the supervisor, CBL Safety Committee Chairperson. Copies of the approved procedure will be included in the Building Evacuation Plan.

Occupant Evacuation Verification:

1. Upon arrival at the designated safe area, each supervisor will verify that all employees of the organizational component have reached safety.

2. Any component that does not have a supervisor present will make this determination collectively.

3. Names and last known location of missing employees will be reported to the Building Evacuation Monitor for relay to the CBL Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.

Preferred Reporting Means:

1. Any person who discovers a fire or other emergency will, from a safe location, immediately dial 911 on the nearest telephone to report the fire/emergency and assistance needed.

2. The caller will state his or her name, location, type of help needed, and stay on the telephone until released by the dispatcher.

H. TRAINING

Individual Employees

1. Upon initial assignment, the immediate supervisor will review with each individual employee those parts of the CBL Emergency Evacuation Plan and Building Evacuation Plan which the employee must know to protect himself or herself in the event of an emergency.

2. The supervisor will also review with the employee any changes in the employee's responsibilities or designated action or changes in the plan.

Employees with Disabilities POLICY

1. Special evacuation provisions will be made for all individuals who have a disability that restricts or impairs their mobility to the extent that they would have difficulty in evacuating a building during an emergency.

2. A specific written emergency evacuation plan for the individual will be prepared by the employee's supervisor and approved by the CBL Safety Committee Chairperson or the CBL Director.

3. Wherever possible, such persons shall have their normal work station located on the ground floor level of buildings.

4. If the employee must work alone, an appropriate "Buddy System" must be approved and implemented.

5. Elevators will not be used as a means of emergency egress unless under the direct supervision and control of the responding Fire Department.

6. All wheelchair accessible exits are clearly marked on each individual building evacuation plan.

I. RESPONSIBILITIES

The Supervisor is responsible for monitoring the locations of all employees in their department with disabilities on the CBL campus and to ensure that proper alarm devices and safety procedures are provided to accommodate their safe egress.

The CBL Safety Committee Chairperson shall approve the written evacuation plan and advise the Building Evacuation Monitors, and any others involved, of all specific evacuation procedures for these persons.

Human Resources will notify the Supervisor of new employees who have disabilities.

Building Evacuation Monitors will assist the employee during an emergency evacuation as defined in the plan.

1. They will maintain awareness of the location of the employee and ensure that the plan remains valid.

2. If conditions in the building or surrounding environment change, reducing the effectiveness of the plan, they shall notify the CBL Safety Committee.

The employee's supervisor is responsible for preparing the specific emergency evacuation plan and, after approval by the CBL Safety Committee Chairperson, implementing the plan.

1. The supervisor is also responsible for the day-to-day safety of the employee and of making sure that the "buddies" know what to do in case of an emergency evacuation.

The employee is responsible for knowing and understanding CBL emergency procedures in general and his/her specific emergency evacuation plan.

1. The employee is responsible for making his or her whereabouts known at all times.

2. The employee will notify the CBL Human Resource Department of any change in his/her condition that could affect his/her performance during an emergency.

J. EMPLOYEE EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN

An emergency evacuation plan must be written for each employee who has declared himself or herself to have a physical disability identified by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

1. The specific written evacuation plan will be prepared by the employee's supervisor in consultation with the CBL Human Resources Department.

2. The plan will define provisions for emergency egress, including the method of egress, route of egress, contingency route(s), duties of other employees assisting the individual, and the role of the responding Fire Department personnel.

Upon approval of the plan by the CBL Safety Committee Chairperson, copies will be filed in the CBL Safety files, Human Resources and with the employee's supervisor.

A meeting to ensure that all involved are properly informed shall be held with the employee.

• 1. The meeting will include the responsible Building Evacuation Monitors, employee's immediate supervisor, and all other individuals indentified in the approved plan.
• 2. Copies of the plan will be given to those attending the meeting. (NOTE: It is important that everyone involved in evacuating an employee with a disability knows what to do and who is responsible for what.)

When applicable, the plan will be reviewed annually for adequacy by the CBL Safety Committee Chairperson and all involved parties as part of the annual STEEP exercise.

CBL Safety Committee Members:

1. Stacy Hutchinson

2. Michael Gonsior

3. Lee Cooper

4. Jerry Frank