Crisis Management - Burns and Fire Disasters - Assignment Example

Crisis Management Proposal Overview The purpose of this proposal is to give a fire disaster plan that can be used to enhance effective use of resources for protection of life and property. This will help the community to cope with emergencies and anticipated needs generated in these situations and assist in effective communication and recovery from those needs. The procedures outlined in the plan can apply for all school communities facing fire disaster and can only be effective if procedures are followed. In drafting the plan, we take into account the victim’s nature, that is, the extent of burns, polytrauma and inhalation lesions and the kind of intervention required. The plan will involve immediate care, medical rescue and equipment and means of rescue. This is dependent on the local and general factors at the disaster area such as the time of disaster occurrence, the place or building where it happened, level of accessibility of the area, the available rescue operation services, and the behavior of those present at the disaster scene. The operation of rescue will depend on the action and speed of those at the disaster scene especially the rescue and emergency teams. The extent of the fire disaster and burns will dictate operational phases of recovery of the disaster and plan for organized relief like medical aid within the shortest duration possible. Thus on a general fire disaster, the plan would take a few summarative steps which include a quick evaluation on the extent of disaster, have a rapid and specific medical assistance in the site. There should be assessment of the local capacity to handle the situation of rescue of property and the victims of the fire disaster and make a selective and safe evacuation of victims of the disaster from the disaster site (Masellis 215). Policy Guidelines The proposal is formulated on a crisis management policy and is limited to fire disasters. Among the principles is the protection of life and health of a person that is of utmost importance. There will be protection of other property within the premises when possible with a primacy of protecting the safety and the health of the person. The institution that is to use the plan must allocate facilities, personnel and equipment for their use or to assists in the event of a fire disaster. The institution will also cooperate with the enforcement agencies in respect of a fire disaster within its premises. The rescue plans should be coordinated by a single individual who should designate a crisis management team that will assist in the coordinated efforts. The principles of the staff and those using the facilities should be opposed to any form of carelessness or neglect or fire hazards that would promote fire disasters at work place. The crisis management team is responsible for communicating or reporting on any hazard that is threatening life. Appropriate information is to be given to employees and students to ensure cooperation during the crisis The Type of Hazards The proposal has come up with different hazards that would result in fire disasters. They include electrical faults that would result to explosions. Kitchen spills of petrol and gas in the institutions kitchen facility that would lead to petrol or gas fire bombs. It also includes fires started by students in the institutions or as a result of related disaster like bomb attacks that would require a more complex emergency service. The Crisis Management Team The institution’s senior management will grant authority to the crisis management team which will designate roles to each member of the team. The crisis management team will inform the senior management information on any life threatening incidents and it’s the role of the top management to react and respond during the emergency situations swiftly. The crisis management team is required to make annual meetings to review and update information in the plan and submit their report to the top management. The crisis management team will consist of a number of roles which include roles for the head of public relations, the head of incidents, head of safety, head of operations, head of logistics, head of planning, and head of administration and finance. The members of these teams will fully be aware of their responsibilities and level of coordination with regard to crisis management. In the event of a crisis, the student affairs representative, and the school head will be informed to give a go ahead on the situation and determine the next course of action. The General Plan This plan involves a set of assumptions and a set of procedural criteria for the crisis management team. Where the fire department or the police are involved, they will take care of all activities and secure the situation. The department of the public relations will be responsible for coordinating communication with the media sources while it’s still in their jurisdiction and school’s spokesman to inform on any cancellations or notifications as prescribed by the communication plan. Not any one school’s representative will reveal the identity of victims unless authorized to so by him or his/her agents. At the occurrence of an emergency situation, the crisis management team will meet at a command post that has been predetermined by the plan. An emergency shelter within the school’s facility will be used in case the residential places are inhabitable due to the fire and the victims require temporary housing (Masellis, Ferrara & Gunn 202). 1. Functional responsibilities The crisis management team is given responsibilities which they are required to take their rightful mandate. If applicable they are required to give advance warning on the incident where it meets and plans for a worst case scenario and make anticipated plans. The decisions made for communication should be implemented where key personnel within the institution should be immediately notified. Precautionary evacuation should be done and essential services personnel such as the fire services or police should be brought in when necessary. There should be a comprehensive incident report which should be submitted to the school’s management and sequential debriefing. During an ongoing emergency or an aftermath of a disaster, first the school’s security personnel should be informed. The city fire services should be called if not already on the disaster scene while the decisions made should be implanted through communication. The crisis management team should initiate the communication decisions by first informing the key personnel, and then they should set up a command post and react and coordinate activities for evacuations, security, shelter and counseling. They should during and after the emergency coordinate restoration of lost items and initiate damage control of damaged utilities. It’s the responsibility of the crisis management team to control traffic to and from the emergency area. It should also coordinate to set up the emergency hotlines and mount rescue operations. They should also contact emergency responders and complete the incident reports with a log of activity during the incident and complete the debriefing process (Cannata & Masellis 152). The post emergency situation should also have preoutlying procedures that as formulated by the crisis management team. There should be continued debriefing and communications to the students, the media and the whole fraternity. There should be ongoing preparations for counseling activities to the affected victims. The events should also be recorded and preparation for permanent records made. The crisis management team should also reassess their plan and see if there are any additions or changes they require and complete the final incident reports. The plan also designates responsibilities for the other departments in the institution. The security services should secure the area while they protect human lives and property and control the emergency site. They should have notifications on the crisis and initiate the crisis plan immediately while they coordinate internal and external activities. They should coordinate and control the command post while they maintain public traffic and order within the school. They should also coordinate rescue operations, record the events and the time taken, and assists the relevant authorities during the operations. The voluntary or organized relief departments and services should come to the scene within the first three hours after the disaster alarm is raised by the institution (Crisis Management Team 8). The public relations department should take care of all information services to the media and act as chief spokesman. They should handle the final notifications of the crisis and other special notifications. They should also give timely communication on the emergencies to the key personnel, and external services. The maintenance department should monitor the safety hazards that are potential risks within the facility. They are responsible for fielding any observations of any hazardous situations or conditions and advice on measures necessary to maintain safety. They should also put on record the event and action to be taken for risk and liability management and contact a service provider to put in place safety measures. The medical department should provide a quick and specific response and assistance to victims while the ambulance services should be on the loose to ferry victims to the hospitals. There should be extensive services even outside of the facility to ensure the victims are attended to while they are evacuated from further disaster. The medical services should call for immediate donations for blood transfusion incase the situation demands and have the public assists voluntarily but professionally in handling the causalities (Gunn & Masellis 5). The administration and student affairs department should make arrangements for alternative or temporary accommodation. The families of serious casualties should be contacted and should make initiatives through the victims’ services and counseling department to counsel with the affected victims. They should also arrange for post emergency memorial services and trace the victims for any disaster refunds. 1. Crisis Management protocol There are steps to follow during the fire emergency which include; the person who discovers the situation should pull the fire alarm and follow procedures to evacuate the disaster area. Then the 911 and the security office should be informed. The school security should communicate to the crisis management team and the fire department and any other external services like the police. The crisis management team will set up a command post and notify the emergency shelter and initiate the hotline and later a press release on the situation. References Cannata E., Masellis M. Study of an emergency plan in the event of a violent fire in a high-rise building. Ann. Medit. Burns Club, 2 (1989): 151-4. Crisis Management Team Crowley College, (2007). Crisis management plan, Crisis management team revised edition, retrieved from http://www.cowley.edu/security/crisismanagement.pdf, pg 1-13 Gunn S.W.A. and Masellis M. The World Organization Centre for Prevention and Treatment of Burn and Fire Disasters: The Mediterranean Club for Burns and Fire Disasters. Ann. Burns and Fire Disasters, 11(1998): 3-6, Masellis M., Ferrara M.M., and Gunn S.W.A.: Immediate assistance and first aid on the spot in fire disaster - education of the public and self-sufficiency training. Ann. Medit. Burns Club, 5(1992): 200-6. Masellis M.: Thermal agent disaster and fire disaster: Definition, damage, assessment and relief operations. Ann. Medit. Burns Club, 4(1991): 215-8. Read More