Emergency action plans and your responsibilities.
Author: Lipstein, Evan
Date: Aug 22, 2007
Words: 756
Publication: Real Estate Weekly
The recent steam pipe explosion on Lexington Avenue shows how and why property managers / owners must pay careful attention to their responsibility to protect building occupants in the event of an emergency.
The steam pipe explosion created a volcano 1000-degree steam, concrete rained down on pedestrians and spread hazardous asbestos. One person died of a heart attack and 30+ pedestrians were injured. This incident demonstrates why buildings are required under local law 26 to have an emergency action plan in place to respond to non-fire related emergencies. This specific emergency, an explosion, is actually mandated to be included in a building’s EAE The local law defines an Emergency as:
Emergency. An incident involving an explosion, a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear or other chemical incident or release, natural disaster, or the threat thereof, or a declaration of emergency by a lawful authority, that requires implementation of a building’s Emergency Action Plan to help ensure the safety of the building occupants.
The steam pipe explosion incident and response by people proximate to this emergency was a good example of what not to do if a similar or intentional terrorist act should occur again. Neighboring buildings spontaneously evacuated and placed evacuees directly in harms way. What should have been done? The neighboring properties Fire Safety / Emergency Action Plan Directors should have implemented their EAP.
What was the proper course of action? With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, there was no direct threat of harm for the adjacent buildings. The blast was on the street. Neighboring buildings weren’t going to collapse. The explosion was outside their buildings, however, it was clearly dangerous. Debris was tailing: steam was spewing into the air and the explosion created a cloud of harmful asbestos. Why would an FS/EAPD send people out into an environment like that? A safer choice would have been to simply shelter in place. For buildings close to the blast where windows were blown out windows an in-building relocation would have been prudent.
Building HVAC systems as well as all supplemental systems and window units should have been immediately shut down (the suggestion by the city to simply recirculate air may or may not have been appropriate).
Exits, entrances and windows should have been closed immediately. Crowd control points should have been established. Elevators, which always cause air to be drawn into the building like a chimney should have been recalled to the lobby and shut down with doors closed.
According to The FDNY less than half of the class E buildings required by law to create and maintain emergency action plans have filed them. As an emergency action plan provider I know that many companies offer EAP’s that are simply “boiler plate” exercises and will actually do little to enhance the safety of building occupants during an emergency.
Presently building owners mostly rely on poorly trained staff that lack proper training and understanding of their responsibilities to implement an EAP.
The majority of building’s staff lack training to provide correct emergency information to tenants and cannot take correct steps as part of their EAP. This is what occurred in this steam pipe explosion and led to a confused response that put lives hundreds of lives in jeopardy.
How should a building Fire Safety/Emergency Action Plan Director decide which response is appropriate? Based upon their emergency action plan training they must simply determine which action is the safest course of action given a specific set of circumstances.
If conditions inside the building are such that occupants are in greater danger if they remain then evacuation is appropriate. In this instance going outside the building exposed occupants to greater harm than simply remaining inside at their normal work locations.
A steam pipe explosion resulted in one death and 30+ injured. Now imagine if this had this been an intentional act with an explosive device, Worse yet, a chemical, biological or radiological attack. We must never forget that there are evildoers plotting attacks here in NYC. We must educate building owners, managers, staff and building occupants the proper response to any / all types of emergencies.
Building tenants must prepare and drill to respond properly to the myriad of emergencies that can occur.
In this recent incident far too many people evacuated their buildings out of fear of another 9/11 scenario (which is understandable) however running for your life out of fear could cost you your life. A carefully prepared emergency action plan is an absolute necessity to ensure the safety of buildings occupants.
BY EVAN LIPSTEIN