Preparedness for disaster stressed at Toledo trade show
07.03.2007 10:30
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- Source: toledoblade.com
Companies and organizations need to develop action plans in advance of such emergencies as bomb threats or a potential avian flu pandemic, guests at the 2007 Facilities Trade Show in Toledo were told yesterday. In both cases, experts said, businesses need to be prepared, have people properly trained, and know how to update the plans and put them into effect. Speaker Michael Cherry, special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol ,Tobacco, and Firearms in Toledo, said crises teams and plans should be in place and updated annually. Each person on the team should know what to do in case of a bomb threat, and a plan should be in place to know when to evacuate the building, he said. As for avian flu, which has been a problem in some parts of the world, speaker Jeff Podracky of Armada security consulting firm in Powell, Ohio, said companies and organizations should have plans that would allow them to operate even if 40 percent of employees could not show up for work. About 300 attended the show, which had more than 50 exhibitors at the Erie
Street Market downtown. Exhibits included emergency generators, electronic security systems and monitoring, and cleaning and equipment-maintenance services. Will Moss, vice president of one of the sponsors, the Facilityand Healthcare Engineers Association of Northwest Ohio, said the show may be the only one of its kind in the nation because in recent years it has brought together several groups. The current strain of avian flu is similar to the one blamed for 500,000 deaths globally in the and Healthcare Engineers Association of Northwest Ohio, said the show may be the only one of its kind in the nation because in recent years it has brought together several groups. The current strain of avian flu is similar to the one blamed for 500,000 deaths globally in the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918, said Mr. Podracky, chief operating officer for Armada. He told The Blade that many firms have emergency plans but fewer than 10 percent have updated them for avian flu, which so far has not been a major problem in America. A national survey of 75 senior information technology officials last fall by Forsythe Solutions Group found that a third of respondents believe that between 60 and 100 percent of their employee population must be present in the workplace to maintain adequate business operations. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has predicted that up to 30 percent of the total population could be incapacitated by an H5N1 Avian flu outbreak. Companies need to identify operations vulnerable to staff shortages and be aware of the consequences of operating short-handed, Mr. Podracky said. Facilities mangers should make sure they have adequate supplies of cleaning materials in case of an outbreak and be prepared to increase the frequency of cleaning and of ventilation-equipment maintenance, he said. A crisis plan, he explained, should include an emergency operations room, and means of getting deliveries of food, fuel, and medical supplies. Some companies might buy high-tech equipment in advance, such as photo-ID devices, electronic access-control equipment, and pager alarms to notify employees. One attendee, Joe Poore, a manager with Toledo Mirror & Glass Co., said avian flu is something everyone has to think about, and big companies in particular could have problems from it. Sara Theis, spokesman for Therma-Tru Doors in Maumee, said each of that company's facilities has an emergency action plan that does not cover avian flu, "but that is something we're currently looking at." Companies should also have plans and checklists for bomb threats, said Mr. Cherry, of the Toledo ATF office. Government materials - such as a checklist for employees to use if they get a telephoned bomb threat, and a 32-page booklet, Bomb Threats and Physical Security Planning - are available. Bomb-search kits should include flashlights, inspection mirrors, and note-taking material, he added. Employees should have checklists and know they should try to keep the caller threatening the bomb on the line, and, if possible, try to record the conversations, he said. "It's not up to law enforcement to decide whether to evacuate or not," Mr. Cherry said. "Your company has to make that decision." Contact Homer Brickey at:
homerbrickey@theblade.com
or 419-724-6129.
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