After an Incident
INTRODUCTION
The first few minutes following an incident such as fire, flood or explosion are the most significant and any action (or inaction) at this stage can have far-reaching consequences. Just as the correct first aid applied in the immediate aftermath of an accidental injury can save life and promote rapid recovery, so too the correct response can ensure that the effects of an incident are minimised.
Disasters usually cause trauma and stress and long term psychological support may be needed, particularly if there have been fatalities. This needs to be borne in mind as people recover from the effects of the incident.
After the incident access to the site may be restricted by considerations of structural integrity or for the investigation of the cause of the incident. The structural integrity of the building or its remains must be established as a first priority by specialist advisers and any stabilising measures carried out before other activities can take place on site. If the incident may be the result of a crime the police will require the scene to be preserved whilst evidence is gathered, and this can take hours or days.
A selection of salvage equipment should be kept nearby, e.g.: waterproof sheets, squeegees, shovels, ladders, ropes, brooms, hard hats, gloves, emergency lighting equipment, heavy-duty plastic sacks and plastic sheeting. Specialist personnel will bring their own equipment if they are invited to assist. The plan should include some or all of the following:
- A damaged roof should be covered with tarpaulins in order to minimise subsequent rainwater damage.
- Floors below a fire should be protected from water seepage from above.
- Appropriate warning signs and barriers should be erected.
- As far as possible, residual water should be removed using squeegees, cloths and suction equipment.
- Lift shafts and other sumps will have to be pumped out.
- Additional personnel may be needed to assist with salvage, particularly during weekends and holiday periods.
- Consideration should be given to the need to plan for suitable, secure storage space for salvaged materials.
- To remove the smoke odour it may be necessary to use a process in which a deodorising liquid is passed through electrically driven sprayers.
- Used extinguishers should be recharged.
- Hose reels should be wiped clean and rewound.
- Alarm systems should be reinstated.
- Premises should be safeguarded against theft, i.e. broken windows should be boarded up and broken doors should be repaired and padlocked.
- The premises may require a manned guarding service.
Besides the physical force of fire-fighting water causing impact damage, water will also put soluble materials into solution and literally begin to wash them away. After the fire is doused, masonry structures will have absorbed huge quantities of moisture and several damaging processes then begin. In winter, freezing conditions can cause frost and saturated, soft masonry may crack. As the water dries out of materials it draws salts in solution to the surface where they crystallise, causing powdering and surface crumbling. Mould and fungi are also encouraged and they thrive on timber and other organic material, causing rot and decay. The building should be thoroughly dried (e.g. by using dehumidifiers), but special care must be taken not to start another fire or to over-dry older buildings.
Specialist advice should be sought in dealing with water-damaged records and files. This should be done without delay as combustion products can be highly acidic and, therefore, very corrosive. As an emergency measure, certain valuable items (e.g. books, but not photographs) can be frozen in commercial freezers. This will arrest further damage until skilled assistance can be obtained.
It should be remembered that work in and around damaged building poses very special problems and may be dangerous.
SALVAGE AND DAMAGE CONTROL
Access to the site may be restricted by considerations of structural integrity or for the investigation of the cause of the fire. Indeed, the structural integrity of the building or its remains must be established as a first priority by specialist advisers and any stabilising measures carried out before access is allowed for any other purposes. The Fire Brigade has a statutory duty to advise and assist with post-fire salvage activities.
Fire scenes are dangerous places and immediate steps should be taken to erect barriers to protect those working in the area and passers-by. The Fire Protection Association has published a useful guide Safety at Scenes of Fire and Related Incidents which also covers problems of chemicals, biological hazards and building safety.
Local Authority Building Control departments have a key role to play in advising on the structural integrity of damaged buildings and related matters. Fire Service personnel will not enter damaged buildings for post incident salvage activities until they have been assured that it is safe to do so. In the case of listed buildings advice can also be obtained from the National Trust, English Heritage, Historic Scotland, CADW or DOE Northern.
The number of staff who will be available to assist with salvage and damage control and the number who can be summoned (from home) quickly should be identified. These should be formed into teams assigned to one specific area of responsibility with a back-up role to a second area. The teams need to be familiar with the layout of the area and the priority of the actions for removal, protection and salvage. They need to be trained in the tasks they may be required to undertake to meet health and safety requirements. They should wear identifying arm bands or tabards. In the case of external resources such as contractors, it is strongly advised that a formal agreement in the form of a dormant contract be drawn up.
The information available for salvage and damage control teams (staff, volunteers or fire brigade) should include separate cards for each room including lists, in priority order, for items to be removed or protected, particularly those items which are irreplaceable, such as works of art. It may be appropriate for the cards to include relevant photographs of specific items. Members of the fire teams and salvage squads should be volunteers and must be physically fit. Employers' liability insurance should be checked to ensure that it covers such activities.
Larger organisations may wish to enter into some form of contract with a specialist salvage firm, such as experts in the care and recovery of historic items.
REVISION OF PLANS
A deceptive and dangerous assumption is the idea that once a plan is written it is complete. Plans require constant reappraisal and revision as flaws and omissions in the plan will always be revealed during exercises. At the same time, changes in organisational structure necessitate regular revision and updating of the plan and, of course, more training. This training/revision cycle can be expressed in the following sequence:
Exercises provide a vitally important contribution to confirming the effectiveness of your plan, and Annex B sets out the benefits of exercising and the types of exercise in a little more detail.
AFTER THE EVENT
When the organisation has returned to normal operation after the event it is important to review the performance of those charged with running the contingency plan, highlighting what was handled well and what could be improved upon next time. Assessing the effectiveness of the plan will normally need to be undertaken immediately after the event and, say, six months later when the longer term implications have been identified. The object of this is to ensure that the lessons of a disaster are thoroughly absorbed by the business, and any sins of omission or commission in the plan are corrected. It is important to incorporate business continuity discipline into normal business practice. It will also be important to confirm with insurance companies that full cover has been reinstated once normality has returned.
RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE CONCERNS
It is traditional to rely upon the existence of insurance to deal with problems that occur. Given sufficient insurance cover, the insurers (and the adjusters appointed by them) will see that the financial adjustments are fair. However, both insurers and insured are losers; the insurer finds that losses are mounting and the insured finds that premiums rise to pay for them. As a result of the bombings in the City of London conventional reinsurance against terrorist attack became difficult to purchase. United Kingdom insurers, with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry set up a pooling arrangement to provide reinsurance cover. This company, Pool Reinsurance Ltd, has issued guidelines on how companies can protect themselves against the impact of terrorist bombs, and the Home Office document, "Protecting People and Property" is an excellent guide for managers and security officers.
Discounts are now available under certain circumstances to those companies who undertake such measures as upgrading of glazing, security improvements, installation of sprinkler systems and preparation of effective emergency plans. Not everything can be taken care of in financial terms. What of the customer who either gets no reply from his or her telephone call or finds that the line is out of order? What he or she may do is approach a competitor; he or she may be lost to the business for ever. What happens to good trained staff dispensed with temporarily and snapped up by competitors?
Even more relevant in many cases is what happens on the morning after the disaster? Staff are left surveying the wreckage, delivery vans are turned away and no one seems to know what to do or who is in charge. There might well be a disaster plan, but if it is not in evidence key matters to be addressed are ignored.
FINALLY
Planning works! A few years ago a terrorist bomb seriously damaged the headquarters of a large insurance company over a spring weekend. By Monday morning furniture, computers, telephones and supplies had been delivered to a relocation address and over 500 staff were at work. This could not have been done without careful planning, which had been tested by exercising, and as a result jobs were preserved and the business continued to flourish.