Escaping a Fire: Two Forms of Egress

Did you know that nearly ten people die in a fire every day in the United States!? And did you know that almost 50 more people are injured in a fire every day!?

Whether you’re a parent concerned about protecting your family, or a business owner concerned about the safety of your staff and customers, identifying at least two forms of egress should the very first step when developing a fire evacuation plan. This is especially true when you live or work in a multi-story building. Take a few moments to consider how you’d escape from the room you’re in right now if your main exit was blocked. (While you’re at it, you might as well think about how to exit the building if an active shooter started opening fire. In a lot of cases your Emergency Action Plan will be the same.)

And before you even start considering whether or not you could survive the jump from your mutli-story building, take a look at the photo to the right. That’s the window the man in Oregon had to climb out of. Could he have survived the fall without the ladder? Maybe. But, if given the choice, wouldn’t you rather spend a few dollars for the fire escape ladder so you wouldn’t have to jump out of a two-story building and landing on a small tree?

Practicing with a Fire Escape Ladder

If you currently have a fire escape ladder, or think you’ll be purchasing one soon, be sure to practice using it. Starting with general ladder accident prevention techniques is a good place to start, but because these ladders tend to be much smaller and much less stable than a typical ladder, you’ll want to get extra practice. The best way to practice using a fire escape ladder is to start by climbing up the ladder first. Once you’re comfortable with how the ladder moves, then you can practice climbing down the ladder. Be sure no one is standing at the base of the ladder just in case someone falls, and when practicing, never allow more than one person on a fire escape ladder at a time.

It’s also a great idea to have a fire extinguisher handy. Being able to buy yourself a few more seconds or minutes could be the difference between life and death. Learn more about safely using a fire extinguisher and the P.A.S.S. technique.

In short, the Red Cross executed this huge undertaking perfectly. I can’t think of a single person that couldn’t benefit from at least a few of the safety tips within the app.

Price and Availability

Perhaps the best part of the Red Cross First-Aid app is that it’s completely free, and available right now for both Apple and Android devices. As long as your smartphone has ~25 MB of free disk space, there isn’t a good reason to not download this. All of the content is installed on your device, which means all of the safety information is available to you as long as your smartphone has battery life… even if you have absolutely no cellular connectivity.

Learn, Prepare, Emergency

The app is broken into three major categories – Learn, Prepare, and Emergency. The Learn tab includes 19 different injury categories like bleeding, diabetic emergency and meningitis. Under each category you’ll get the most common signs and symptoms for that injury as well as treatment options. In some cases you’ll even get a short video clip that demonstrates proper treatment or symptom identification techniques. The information is laid out well, and because the information is coming from the Red Cross, you know you can trust its validity.

The Prepare tab switches focus from general first-aid to natural disasters and emergency situations (e.g., power outages, chemical emergencies, etc.). Many of the categories in the Prepare tab include interactive checklists that can be used to ensure you’ve covered all of your bases. There are some really helpful tips in here, even for the most prepared person. For example, did you know that during a power outage a full freezer will keep temperature for about 48 hours if the door is kept closed?

The Emergency tab is what makes this app so valuable. This tab incudes many of the same injury categories found under the Learn tab, but gives you step-by-step directions for making the most appropriate first-aid decision. Most of the categories explain when an injury is too serious for simple first aid and includes a button that will automatically dial 911 if the situation warrants it.

Testing and Achievements

Think you know first-aid and emergency preparedness basics? Prove it! The Red Cross app also includes a really well done testing module that ensures you’ll be fully prepared when things go wrong. Did you know you can use soda or orange juice to cool a burn? I didn’t… and I’ve written a lot of material about how to treat a burn.

After you successfully answer all of the test questions you’ll receive an Achievement badge that is displayed proudly under the Test tab. You can even choose to share your achievement online with your friends. Here’s us boasting a bit on Twitter:

I’ve just unlocked the Bleeding badge on the Red Cross First Aid app! bit.ly/IYsNjs

— West Bend Safety (@Safety_WestBend) June 14, 2012

Conclusion

If it isn’t already clear… I really think you need to download this app. You never know when it’ll come in handy. You might need it if your uncle collapses at a family barbecue, or if your friend sprains their ankle in the woods, or if your community is experiencing an extreme drought. Don’t wait to download this until you’re desperate for good first-aid advice… download it right away. Trust me; you’ll be happy you did.

Who hasn’t heard that warning rattle through their radio? Or their TV?

We’ve all heard it at some point. But for people like me who almost never listen to the radio and prefer to skip through commercials by watching digitally recorded TV, you might struggle trying to remember the last time you heard or saw a legitimate storm warning or other notable emergency.

Fortunately for many people with newer phones, this problem ends later this month when every major wireless cellphone carrier and the federal government launches the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service. In a nutshell, CMAS-capable phones will be able to receive a brief text message alert whenever a threat exists in their immediate area. Because the service is location-based, it won’t matter if you’re a Californian visiting Wisconsin when a tornado warning hits Milwaukee… you’ll get the warning.

In addition to weather alerts warning about things like tornadoes, tsunamis, wind storms and flash floods, the service will also publish AMBER alerts for missing children.

You might be wondering, “How do I sign up for the Wireless Emergency Alerts service!?” Good news, you don’t have to do a thing. This warning system will be an opt-out service which means as soon as it goes live, you’ll receive warnings.

How Will Wireless Emergency Alerts Work?

More Information From Wireless Carriers

If you have any more questions about the WEA, or won’t to get information on CMAS-capable devices, you can visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on the CTIA website, or you can read more about it from your wireless carrier:

• AT&T
• Verizon
• Sprint Nextel
• T-Mobile
• U.S. Cellular
• Cricket

Or, to put it another way, who would you rather have watching your kids — a childcare provider that saved four kids last year by successfully performing the Heimlich maneuver, or a childcare provider that didn’t perform the Heimlich at all?

You’d obviously want the lifeguard or childcare provider with emergency response experience, right?

Wrong! After all, you wouldn’t say that someone who has talked their way out of several speeding tickets is a good driver, would you?

Someone that is too good at saving lives probably isn’t doing a very good job at preventing dangerous situations in the first place. An attentive lifeguard would know how to identify dangerous situations at the pool, and a good childcare provider would make sure a child isn’t putting something too big into their mouth.

Before rushing to congratulate a lifesaver the next time you or your organization experiences a near miss – as opposed to an actual claim or or injury – you might want to consider asking, “How could we have prevented this in the first place?“

“How long are we supposed to do this?”

If you’ve ever taught or participated in a CPR class, you have almost certainly heard someone ask, “So… how long are we supposed to do this?”

At which point the instructor inevitably answers, “As long as you can safely continue doing so.”

During CPR trainings this brief conversation is probably dismissed relatively quickly. People participating in the class aren’t likely envisioning a circumstance in which they have to continue rescue breaths and chest compressions for more than a few minutes. But as the story above illustrates… you just never know how long it may take.

As a general rule, anyone performing CPR should continue breaths and compressions until emergency responders can safely takeover. You never know when one more minute may make the difference.

As it stands now, there are a lot of questions surrounding the entire ordeal. In this post we’re only going to focus on one question:

Should lifeguards and other CPR-trained staff step aside and allow guests who claim to be medical professionals perform lifesaving techniques?

Loss prevention, claims, and legal associates from West Bend got together this morning to discuss this very difficult question. We started the brainstorming session by identifying two different scenarios. In order to assess the liability questions surrounding this story, the five-year-old girl dies in both scenarios. The two scenarios are:

1. Lifeguards arrive and allow the doctor and nurse to continue providing care.
2. Lifeguards arrive and prevent the doctor and nurse from continuing to provide care.

Once we had the two scenarios laid out, the question was: Which case would we, as an insurance carrier, rather defend from a liability standpoint? Now before we continue with this discussion, we want to make it very clear that we obviously would prefer to never see a drowning occur; the reality is, however, that these things happen, and addressing aquatics policies and procedures often comes down to matters of liability.

After some debate, everyone was in agreement that we would much rather see a lifeguard or other member of the staff allow a medical professional to take over. The obvious rebuttal to this is, “But how do you know that someone is actually a doctor, nurse, or EMT?” We are confident that most people in most circumstances would not falsely claim to be a professional, and for this reason, we give these people the benefit of the doubt.

Insight from an Aquatics Professional

We recognize, however, that insurance carriers may view these kinds of scenarios with a different lens than a full-time aquatics professional, so we spoke with Bonnie Griswold, a lifelong water safety advocate, trainer, and supervisor. Bonnie is currently an instructor at the University of Wisconsin, and was a member of the American Red Cross National Technical and Educational Advisory Development Team for the revision of the current Lifeguarding materials and for the 2009 release of the Water Safety Instructor (WSI) program.

After sharing the details of the drowning that took place at Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas, we asked Bonnie what she would expect from her own lifeguard crew. Without hesitation, Mrs. Griswold indicated that in every scenario, she would hope her lifeguards would step aside and allow someone claiming to be a medical professional to take over.

She says, “You always make room for the person with the highest level of training.” And with that in mind, she brought up another excellent point: lifeguards have more training in water rescues than a doctor or nurse. So, if a swimmer is in distress and a doctor is present, the lifeguard takes the lead until the victim is safely on land, and then the doctor takes over from there.

That is, until I came home from dinner on a Saturday evening and forgot to close the garage door. Temperatures dropped well below freezing that night. Predictably, I woke up to frozen pipes. After about 20 minutes of thawing everything out with space heaters and blow dryers, I had water flowing through the pipes again.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t out of the woods just yet. One of the frozen pipes in the garage burst under the pressure and water was spewing all over one of the cars. I was frantic. Where is the water shut-off!?

I’m embarrased to tell you it took me more than 10 minutes to find the shut-off valve. Luckily, the pipe burst in my unfinished garage and not a main living space. The pipe was replaced with relatively little headache, and I’m happy to report no major damage was sustained. But it could have been so much worse.

Lessons Learned

As I mentioned, the damage my home sustained was minimal, but if the pipe had burst somewhere else in the home or – even worse – at your place of business, we could be talking about hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of damage.

1. Know where the water shut-off valve is.

In hindsight, this seems obvious, but I had a lot of other things on my mind. I’m guessing many of you do as well. Your organization is big and complex, and details like water shut-off valves can easily slip through the cracks.

If you don’t know where the water shut-off is at your place of business, stop reading this blog post immediately and go find it. If you do know where the water shut-off is, stop reading this blog post immediately and make sure other people know where it is too. There is always the possibility that you won’t be around to shut the water off, so it is important that other trustworthy employees know what to do.

2. Make sure you have access to the water shut-off valve.

Knowing where to find the water shut-off valve is not enough. You need to be able to get to it. In my case, I had a hard time finding it because it was surrounded by boxes and tools. Access to the shut-off valve should be open and obvious.

I’m willing to bet money that many community organizations and businesses open to the public have water shut-off valves located behind locked doors. If locking these doors off to members is absolutely necessary, make sure enough employees know where to find the keys to unlock the door.

3. Know who to contact when something goes wrong.

Even though damage was minimal, I had a plumber and my independent insurance agent on the phone almost immediately. For a business, especially one that works with children and families, a much longer list of contacts is going to be necessary.

Ask yourself the following questions. You should know the answer immediately.

• Who is my insurance carrier and agent, and how do I contact them? (West Bend customers: get more information about reporting a claim)
• How do I let members know that there is a problem at the facility?
• If children are at the facility, how do we contact their parents quickly and efficiently?

4. Minimize damage by opening a main drain.

Water continued to flow through the burst pipe even after I shut off the main water supply. By turning on a faucet closer to the main water supply I was able to divert as much of the remaining water as possible into a drain rather than on my garage floor.

In a commercial setting, you can open the main drain that is typically located right next to the shut-off valve. Doing so gives you more control over where the remaining water in the system is diverted. Make sure you turn off the main water supply first though!

5. Ensure you have adequate insulation.

Even though the pipes in my garage are insulated, they stood very little chance to the frigid cold with the garage door open all night. Always make sure doors and other openings are closed during the winter months.

You should also ensure that the insulation along the outside areas of the building (ie. the attic) is sufficient. Insulation has the tendency to settle over time, which can reduce its effectiveness at combatting the elements.

As I was reading through the key findings, I couldn’t help but think about the hundreds of non-profits, community organizations and summer camps we work with. Would our customers be prepared in a disaster? And not only a natural disaster, but rather all major catastrophes – think of drownings, lock downs, power failures, etc.

I would like to think that all organizations are prepared for the worst-case scenario, but I know that just isn’t the case. Here are the key findings from the Nashville flood report, and my thoughts on how organizations can use them to better prepare for a catastrophe.

Finding #1 – Coordinate and Partner

At critical times, insufficient coordination and communication between the National Weather Service and the Army Corps of Engineers undermined the flood forecast. It was symptomatic of a lack of understanding of each other’s operational procedures, forecast processes and critical data needs.

This just as easily could read:

At critical times, insufficient coordination and communication between the Fitness Center and local emergency medical services impacted EMS’s ability to respond to a heart attack victim. It was symptomatic of a lack of understanding of each other’s operational procedures, building layouts, and response times.

Is every employee aware of, and comfortable with, the emergency action plan? Does your facility even have an emergency action plan? Are local EMS, police, and fire fighting authorities comfortable with the layout and location of your facility?

Employees at every level of the corporate ladder should be included in at least one emergency preparedness drill each year; this includes janitorial staff, maintenance crews, volunteers, etc. Employees that are more likely to respond to emergencies (ie. lifeguards, camp counselors, child watch staff, etc.) should practice activating the emergency action plan more frequently.

Get local authorities involved in at least one emergency drill each year. Make sure they know the fastest route to your facility, the fastest way to navigate the building, and the location of important landmarks such as fire hydrants and sprinkler shut-off valves.

Finding #2 – Increase Staffing when Necessary

Despite good coordination and increased staffing in advance of the flooding, the forecast office in Nashville and the Ohio River Forecast Center needed additional staff to manage operations more proactively and maintain a high level of situational awareness as the threat increased.

Is it really all that hard to image this instead:

Despite good coordination and increased staffing in advance of the busiest swimming weekend of the year, lifeguards and program staff needed additional people to manage operations more proactively and maintain appropriate guard-to-swimmer and staff-to-participant ratios as the pool became busier.

A drowning, near drowning, or other catastrophic event can happen at any time, but these tragedies are much more likely when a facility is at maximum capacity. Supervisors must carefully track member attendance schedules and determine the busiest days of the year. An overcrowded pool is a disaster waiting to happen, even with competent lifeguards on duty.

In addition to busy pool days, many community organizations become the go-to spot for parents in a bind during weather-related school closures. If your organization takes on kids from the community during snow days, be prepared to beef up staffing. Keep an eye on the forecast and plan accordingly. Unsupervised children are a liability insurance nightmare.

Finding #3 – Communicate

Many people did not respond to flood warnings, either because the warnings were not activated over the Emergency Alert System or because they were not specific enough to cause listeners to believe the flooding would impact their roads, homes and businesses.

Couldn’t this happen in your community:

Many people did not respond to the lockdown, either because the warnings were not activated over the Emergency Alert System or because they were not specific enough to cause listeners to believe the threat was legitimate.

If the building is forced to lockdown, either because of a dangerous situation in the community, or because of a weather-related disaster, it is imperative that this message is shared clearly and quickly with members and staff. Would your organization be prepared if a crazed gunman was headed directly for the facility? If a tornado was barreling towards the building, would everyone inside be able to get to a safe location?

Never take a chance. Disasters, whether natural or unnatural, are inevitable. Your employees and the members of your community rely on your preparedness.

This past Thursday, I witnessed a high-speed collision between an SUV and motorhome that left both vehicles completely engulfed in flames. Here is the SUV less than 10 minutes after the collision.

As one of the first people at the scene, I had an opportunity to find out what happened and make sure everyone was okay. The driver of the motorhome explained that he was having mechanical issues with the vehicle, so he was driving significantly under the speed limit on the right side emergency pullover lane.

It appears that the driver of the SUV didn’t see this, and slammed full speed into the back of the RV. It’s fortunate that no one was in the rear of the motorhome or passenger seat of the SUV, because they likely would have been very seriously injured.

Lessons Learned

Jenn was left with a sobering reminder of just how important seat belts and proper car seats are in vehicle rollovers. While I’m sure that seatbelts played an important role in keeping everyone unscathed on Thursday, I walked away from my experience with different insight.

1. Never drive a vehicle in need of repair.

As mentioned before, the driver of the motorhome indicated that he was having mechanical problems. While I don’t know all of the details, my best guess is that he probably should have had the vehicle towed. If a vehicle isn’t capable of driving safe speeds in a controlled manner, have it towed. Your organizations’ drivers should be trained to always pull a faulty vehicle safely to the side of the road. A driver should never put themselves, or their passengers, in compromising situations.

2. Never take your eyes off of the road.

I don’t know why the driver of the SUV didn’t see the motorhome in time to stop. It’s possible that the motorhome didn’t have its lights on. But it’s also possible that the driver of the SUV was text messaging or preoccupied in some other way. Regardless of the circumstances, this collision is proof that tragedy can strike in a matter of milliseconds. Never ever take your eyes off of the road. If you absolutely must make a phone call, send a text message, or eat… pull over!

3. Be prepared for anything.

I did not have a fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, or road flares in my vehicle. Basically, I was completely unprepared for a serious auto accident. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. But if someone had been trapped in either of the vehicles, I would have been forced to witness the flames completely engulf them. Every vehicle should be stocked with essential first-aid supplies and safety gear, including items like blankets, water, etc.

4. Know where you are.

I was able to contact 911 only seconds after the collision. With the help of a GPS, I was able to give the 911 operator precise location coordinates. Police officers, paramedics, and firefighters were on the seen in a matter of minutes, but if I didn’t have a GPS, I’m not sure I would have been able to provide accurate information.

This may seem like obvious advice, but always know where you are. Anytime you drive, but especially on long trips through remote areas, it’s important to know how far you are between exits or rest areas.

5. Wear your seatbelt.

I’m assuming the collision on Thursday night occurred at speeds in excess of 65 miles per hour. If either of the drivers hadn’t been wearing their seat belts, it is extremely likely that they would have been ejected from their vehicles. If you know a driver that refuses to wear a seat belt, show them this video clip of the Rollover Convincer; it usually does the trick.

Picture this – a possible spinal victim is floating lifelessly in the shallow water of the pool. Lifeguards respond immediately by activating the Emergency Action Plan (EAP). The victim is backboarded and an ambulance can be heard in the distance. As the victim is transported from the pool deck to the ambulance, EMS workers hit a snag. The backboard won’t fit through the building’s entrance!  After several minutes searching for keys to a back gate, staffers were able to get the victim in to the ambulance. Luckily, this entire scenario was simply an in-service training. The management staff and lifeguards learned a very valuable lesson before anyone was actually injured.

Is your staff prepared to activate and implement your emergency action plan from start to finish? Have you involved local EMS and police enforcement?

An EAP should be the proactive guide for staff to follow in the unexpected and sudden event of an accident or injury that must be dealt with urgently. It also acts as evidence of responsible care. Unless all of the pieces are in place, however, it may not act as the risk management plan that was anticipated.

Consider how you can coordinate the pieces of an EAP:

EMERGENCY

Personnel, communication, and equipment are three important components of the EAP.

• Personnel – Think beyond the scope of typical emergency personnel who include lifeguards, head lifeguards, and managers, to include concession or front desk staff, maintenance, coaches, local EMS, law enforcement, the gas and electric company, and even your chemical supply company. Is everyone on the same page?
• Communication – An effective communication system must be in place and should be used during an incident to notify other lifeguards, as well as EMS, fire, or law enforcement. What’s the process for the lifeguard team to follow for an act of violence? What if there’s no emergency phone available on the pool deck when the manager’s office is locked?
• Equipment – Any member of the lifeguard team involved in an emergency must be comfortable with the equipment available in a rescue situation. Does your in-service training require each member of your aquatic safety team personally hande the new AED? Does each member of the team know the location of the oxygen tank, body fluid spill kit, or fire extinguishers?

ACTION

With the pieces of personnel, communication, and rescue equipment in place, you can gear your pre-employment testing, orientation, and in-services to the EAP’s desired outcome. You must remember lifeguards have a duty to act in an emergency. So they can be successful performing these actions, your facility must:

• Implement a screening process that includes a practical evaluation of skills and knowledge. The evaluation becomes even more critical if the lifeguards you hired have been trained by different organizations. How deep were the pools in which your lifeguards trained? Are they prepared to make a rescue in the deepest part of your pool?
• Design an orientation for the lifeguards so they’ll understand their responsibilities and your expectations. New lifeguards should not be expected to learn as they go.
• Define roles and responsibilities for each type of emergency, whether it’s a tornado warning, an injury, sudden illness, missing person, or drowning victim.
• Create informative, challenging, and engaging in-service training that will enhance your lifeguard team’s knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm. Bring in guest speakers or hold a competition between your lifeguards. Conduct simulated emergencies involving other agencies, such as EMS.
• Establish responsibilities after the lifeguard team has responded to an emergency in completing reports, checking equipment, and dealing with questions, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of the plan so revisions can be made, if necessary.

PLAN

As aquatic professionals and supervisors, you put together the EAP with the personnel, communication system, and rescue equipment appropriate for your facility. You should spend your efforts making sure the aquatic safety team is qualified, knowledgeable, and competent in carrying out their duties to act with the pre-employment training orientation and in-services you’ve provided so their actions produce the highest standard of care.

Take a look at your Emergency Action Plan. Does it cover the unexpected?