How Evacuation Training, Exercises and Drills Can Save Lives
Education and knowledge are critical to survival.
- By Lauris Freidenfelds
- Apr 01, 2022
On September 11, 2001, Rick Rescorla, the security director for the Morgan Stanley offices in the World Trade Center buildings, was seated in his office on the 44th floor of Two World Trade Center. He had roughly 3,700 employees in those buildings who occupied over 22 floors of space. When he saw the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, he immediately ordered the evacuation of his staff in the south tower despite orders to the contrary. He even called for the evacuation of around 1,000 employees in WTC 5, a nine-story building near the Twin Towers.
He is credited for saving almost all of his people that day. Unfortunately, Rescorla died that terrible day and was last seen going back up the stairwell to ensure that everyone was evacuated, just as the second plane hit the north tower.
While many tell the story of his heroism in the face of danger, leading his staff down the stairs in a calm and orderly manner, their survival and success was developed before that fateful day. It was developed with the rigorous evacuation training, exercises and drills he demanded. Rescorla met resistance in scheduling these “non-productive” events, but he did it anyway. Proper planning prevents panic.
The OSHA Act of 1970, states that employers provide a work environment "free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm." In my role of leading emergency management for my organization, we took an “All Hazards Approach” to planning for emergencies. The essence of this is to create a common response plan as much as possible, regardless of the hazard. There should be no sense of competition concerning which hazard is more impactful. Fires and active shooters both kill. The biggest lessons learned from employees is that they want to feel and be “safe,” not only from fires, but from violence and other risks. Knowing what to do helps achieve that. Training, exercises, and drills make it happen.
The Difference Between Procedures and Plans
One important distinction is the difference between procedures and plans. Early in my career, we encountered an emergency that had the potential to require the evacuation of over 600 patients. We had a procedure in place at that time which stated that for this particular hazard, plan and execute an evacuation. Evacuating a hospital should be the last resort as there can be greater harm to patients during an evacuation. While we prepared for the potential to evacuate, we took steps to mitigate the harm until the hazard was eliminated. And in the end, we avoided the need for evacuation.
This article originally appeared in the April 2022 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.