Transcript Process of UTHSCH Fire Alarm Response

UTHSC-H Safety Liaison
Training
UTHSC-H
Environmental Health and Safety
713-500-8100
What is an “Area Safety Liaison”?
A person who assists with health and
safety functions for a designated area
within UTHSCH
May volunteer or be designated by unit
supervisor
Replaces previous “fire warden” program,
since functions are expanded beyond
mere fire evacuations
Overall Program Goals
Improve building occupant safety during
emergency situations
Provide volunteers with the information
and tools they need to explain the
UTHSC-H emergency response process
to others in their department
Education and communication
Goals For Today
Kick Off the New ASL Program
Meet EH&S Staff
Meet Fellow ASL’s
Understand university emergency
procedures
Orienting ASL’s with your role
Provide beneficial information and tools
that will help coordination during
emergencies
Robert Emery
Executive Director, EH&S
Bruce Brown
Director, EH&S
Radiation Safety
Janet McCrary
Chemical Safety
Kathleen Maness
Biological Safety
Bruce Brown
Manager
Acting Manager
Manager
Environmental
Protection
Alan Lucas
Physical Safety
Joseph Parham
Manager
Manager
Safety Specialist
Safety Specialist
Leon Brown
Jennifer Palmer
Safety Specialist
Safety Specialist
Safety Specialist
Tyler Zerwekh
Jason Bible
Julie Broussard
Safety Specialist
Safety Specialist
Scott Patlovich
Selome Ayele
Safety Specialist
Safety Specialist
Marianna
Korshukin
Dita Geary
Safety Specialist
Reyes Torres
Safety Specialist
Jason LeBlanc
Safety Specialist
Pete Martinez
Safety Specialist (p/t)
Mike Allen
Safety Specialist (p/t)
Jim McMillan
Safety Specialist (p/t)
Steve Newsome
Why Change?
Emergencies are not simply limited to fire
Awareness to man made disasters has
increased
Lower fellow employee apprehension through
education
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Closure Procedures
Access to emergency information
What is going on “behind the scenes”
Build upon fire response procedures for other
emergency situations
Needed an excuse to have an annual luncheon
and emergency response bags
Types of Foreseeable Emergencies
Man made
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Fire
Building Evacuation
gas leak, bomb threat
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Widespread Power Outage
Explosion
Aircraft collision
Terrorist threat
Civil disturbance
Release of hazardous material
Medical emergency
Auto accident
Criminal activity
Natural
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Tornado
Flooding
Hurricane
Tropical Storm
ASL Duties and Responsibilities
ASL’s will play crucial role in the institutional
safety program by:
 Assisting with emergency evacuations and
drills
 Accounting for evacuated personnel
 Assist in responding to emergency situations
 Properly using portable fire extinguishers* or
activating building alarms
 Assisting with the identification and protection
of mobility impaired individuals
 Assistance with AED’s, first aid*
ASL Duties and Responsibilities
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Answering questions or directing questions for
appropriate resolution
Providing updates on changes to personnel,
such as ASL’s or AASL’s
Notifying EH&S for corridor and exit
blockages
Provide feedback to EH&S from the university
community
Alternate ASL’s
To improve coverage for each area, an
alternate ASL will also be designated
Responsibilities and time commitments will
be identical to ASL
Most Likely Threat
Of all the foreseeable threats, a building fire is
considered to be the most likely event to be
encountered, and thus aggressively controlled
Rationale
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Sources of ignition omnipresent
Sources of combustible materials are also
omnipresent
Other threats are statistically more rare and/or
seasonally dependent
Systems to address fire safety can serve as the
foundation for addressing many of the other possible
threats
Actual Alarm Event
A building fire alarm is activated by either
 Pull station engaged by person encountering
fire
 Detection system senses smoke or fire
 Water flow from sprinkler head
 System falsely detects or malfunctions
High Rise Alarm Design
(a high rise is 75 ft or taller)
Alarm sounds on affected
floor, the floor immediately
above and the floor
immediately below
From experience, be aware
that sound might be heard
faintly on other floors, near
speakers, or resonating
through elevator shafts
If the alarm is on your floor,
you’ll know it -- its really
loud!
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8
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6
5
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2
1
What To Do
Occupants on affected floors assemble at stairwell
exit
Occupants should exit if they see smoke/fire or feel
their safety is threatened
Automatic notifications to UTPD, FPE, and EH&S
UTPD dispatch calls HFD unless immediately notified
by EH&S or FPE of “false alarm” (usually due to
contractor activities)
UT Police remains at panel while FPE investigates
origin – UT Police serves as contact for HFD upon
arrival
Investigation could take a minimum of 10 – 15
minutes, so building occupants should expect the
alarms to sound for at least this long
Automatic Notifications
When a building alarm activates:
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UT Police dispatch receives an indication of
alarm identifying building, floor, and actual
device sending alarm
Facility Operations is automatically notified via
a pager system, identifying building only
EH&S also notified automatically via pager
system with building identification only
Fire Department Notification
UT Police dispatch
immediately notifies
Houston Fire Department
unless immediately notified
by officer, FO or EH&S that
alarm is false
Once notified, Houston Fire
Department will proceed to
site to investigate,
regardless of subsequent
notifications
Immediate Response
Nearest UT Police and Facility Operations
personnel proceed to building alarm panel
Panel display will identify origin of alarm. Panel
may be silenced at this point, but horns, strobes,
and recorded announcement continue
UT Police makes standard announcement
UT Police remains at panel while FO
investigates origin – UT Police serves as contact
for HFD upon arrival
Note – investigation could take 5 -10 minutes, so
building occupants should expect the alarms to
sound for at least this long
If Alarm is Erroneous
False alarms are usually caused by dust
from construction activities, accidental
damage to a device, or device not
properly isolated while conducting alarm
system maintenance
If found to be erroneous, FPE return to
panel
Silence building alarm, reset panel
Make “all clear” announcement
Provide necessary information to HFD
Notify Public Affairs or designated building
contact, who in turn will distribute building
e-mail describing event (pre-written text
with inserted facts)
If Alarm is Real
Responding FPE notify UTPD panel operator to evacuate
building
Occupants are notified to evacuate the building
 If fire is quickly extinguished by building occupant or
sprinkler system, the building may not be evacuated
Area Safety Liaisons assist with maintaining inventory of
persons
Assemble persons at safe distance from building
If fire localized, FPE may attempt to use appropriate portable
fire extinguisher to put fire out. If attempt unsuccessful, FPE
to evacuate area as well.
HFD will be seeking information on
 Location of fire and source
 Location of injured, trapped, or mobility impaired persons
 Report necessary information to Fire Chief
Post-Event Steps
Public Affairs distributes information to key
UTHSCH leadership and media
Notifications for UTS for insurance
UTPD secure site
FO coordinate clean up, but considers
preservation of evidence, using existing
disaster recovery contracts
Legal involved for personal and/or regulatory
notifications
UTHSC-H Closure Procedures
Level 3 and 4
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Closure Porcedures
UTPD Monitors
Potential Emergency
Situations and
Updates President
Dr. James T. Willerson
President
Dr. Michael McKinney
Dr. Max Buja
Chief Operating Officer
(COO)
Executive Vice President
Academic Affairs
Dr. Peter Davies
Executive Vice President
Research
The decision to close the university is made by
Willerson, McKinney, Buja, and Davies. The decision
can be made by any one of the four.
Public Affairs
Answering service
main swithcboard is
notified
Voice mail message is
updated at 713-500-9996
or 713-500-7999
School deans and
executive council are
notified of closure
Emergency Responders
and Site Coordinators
EH&S
Facility Operations
Houston Fire Department
UTPD
Public Affairs
Public Affairs Emergency
Notification Example
SAMPLE EMERGENCY WEATHER ALERT FROM PUBLIC AFFAIRS:
Be prepared for hazardous weather
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement for the remainder of
today. Tropical Storm ___________ is rapidly moving to the west across the central Gulf of
Mexico. A ______ watch is in effect for ____________ until ______.
See National Weather Service storm tracking at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/
In a serious weather emergency, UTHSC-H employees and students may find out whether the
institution is officially open by the following means:
Tune in to any of these radio stations: KILT-AM 610, KILT-FM 100.3, KPRC-AM 950, or
KTRH-AM 740. Local television stations KHOU, KHWB, KPRC, KRIV, KTRK, KXLN 45
and KTMD 48.
Employees with offices in the Medical School, John Freeman Building, Hermann
Professional Building, or Jesse Jones Library Building may call (713) 500-7999.
Harris County Psychiatric Center employees should call (713) 741-5001.
All other employees and students may call (713) 500-9996.
Closings and other emergency conditions will be posted on the Web at
http://www.uthouston.edu and http://www.uth.tmc.edu.
If these communication media are out of order or do not provide adequate information,
employees should call their supervisors. All employees and supervisors are reminded to
keep home phone numbers with them at home so that they can reach each other in case of
emergency.
Employees defined by their department as “essential’ and employees and students with clinical
obligations at hospitals and other locations should check with their supervisors.
Emergency Response Bags
Contain supplies that could be useful in an
emergency situation
Use contents as needed and call EH&S for
restocking
Take bags with you in the event of an
evacuation
Return bags to EH&S if duties change
Packet Review
ASL Responsibilities and Procedures
Emergency Contact Numbers
Fire Extinguishers
Evacuation Request Form
AED/CPR lists and locations
ESRP
Hallway Clearance Policy
Sample Public Affairs Alert
ASL Emergency Kit
Building Specific Information
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List of ASL’s
Building Site Plan with Recommended Assembly Locations
Assembly Locations
For information on assembly locations
please contact Environmental Health and
Safety at 713-500-8100.
How to determine a closed
stairwell
Exit Sign will Be covered
Alternate Exit Route
Not an exit
sign
There will be postings on the door
Design of new stairwells: the
egress path
From ground level,
exit up a ½ floor
From the first floor,
exit down a ½ floor
In the event of a building alarm,
a gate will deploy to direct
people along the exit path
Results of the Great UTHSC-H Nuisance
Fire Alarm Challenge
Number of Alarms
5
4
3
2
1
0
Jan.
Dec.
Nov.
Oct.
Sept.
Aug.
July
Contractor