Being Ready When It Matters: Emergency Planning and Staff Preparedness

When things go wrong, and they sometimes will, what matters most is how prepared your staff is to respond. A robust Emergency Action Plan (EAP), complemented by well-trained and competent staff, can make all the difference in protecting participants, staff, and your operation. Consistent with my previous articles, I highlight the ACCT standards as a valuable resource for establishing clear expectations. In our experience, these standards have been instrumental in guiding us toward a safer and more efficient EAP development process.

Initially, we relied on a basic EAP provided by our vendor. However, this plan proved insufficient for the diverse challenges we encountered in our operation. Drawing on the insights and experiences of others, we significantly enhanced our EAP.

What Does It Say? B.2.5: Having a Written Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
Your organization shall have an adequate written plan in place for the reasonable management of emergencies.

How We Make It Work:

• Cover the Basics: Creating an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) can be a daunting task, whether you're just starting a new operation or have been running one for a while. Our own EAP development began with our management, owners, and first responders. We initiated the process with a brainstorming session and a comprehensive walk through of our entire operation to identify potential basic incidents and accidents.

• Then Add Some More: Following an initial brainstorm, we engaged our staff in discussions about their daily experiences with the course and participants. We further consulted with local first responders to understand common emergency situations in our area. It's worth noting that due to the abundance of outdoor activities like rafting, hiking, and skydiving, our first responders often handle unique situations not typically encountered in urban environments.

• Break it down: Incorporating all feedback and information, we conducted our own risk analysis. We categorized potential incidents by their likelihood, designating them as either high-chance or low-chance occurrences. Crucially, all identified incidents remain documented, as even low-risk events are still possible. For each safety concern, we outlined comprehensive steps, from initial incident identification to post-response check-ins. This includes detailing the responsibilities of the first person on the scene, procedures for all staff, administrative protocols, and the agreed-upon procedures with our first responders.

• Tailor It to Your Site: As we wrote it down, we mapped it, we marked locations like where the helicopter would land, and created information cards with specific information for staff to relay to first responders should they need to be dispatched. We documented the plan, including detailed maps and designated helicopter landing zones. Information cards were also created to provide staff with specific details for first res ponders in case of deployment.

• Practice It: We conduct annual, full-staff emergency drills, categorized into two types: planned and semi-planned. For planned scenarios, we brief our guides in advance about the situation. For semi-planned drills, while we coordinate with first res ponders (fire department, ambulance, and helicopter services), our staff remains unaware of the specific scenario. This approach provides our staff with a more realistic experience and allows res ponders to practice their response times to our location while observing genuine reactions.

What Does It Say? C.1.8: Staff Must Be Able to Initiate and Implement the EAP

Staff shall be capable of initiating and implementing the organization’s emergency action plan.

How We Make It Work:

• Train for the Role, Not Just the Job: As previously mentioned, we regularly practice our Emergency Action Plan (EAP). All staff members are trained to respond in various roles, aligning with their specific staff training and first aid/CPR certifications. We provide ongoing training to ensure everyone understands their responsibilities in any given situation.

• Build Confidence, Not Just Compliance: Given that individuals react uniquely to stress, we regularly practice scenarios to build confidence and ease anxiety. Monthly refreshers cover various situations, empowering staff to respond effectively even in high-pressure moments. This consistent training also fosters greater trust among team members. Following each practice, we conduct debriefs to identify successes and areas for improvement. We also discuss the potential emotional impacts of different scenarios, recognizing that situations requiring basic first aid may evoke different mental and emotional responses than those that are more life-threatening.

• Communicate Clearly: Our operations are equipped with precise and distinct radio and phone protocols, tailored to various potential scenarios.

  • Phone Procedures: We've established clear guidelines for when to contact emergency services and designated personnel for making those calls, minimizing duplicate calls.

  • Radio Procedures: During critical incidents, we utilize specific radio communication protocols on our emergency channel to ensure essential information reaches all relevant staff. These protocols also govern what can be shared to prevent sensitive information from being overheard by participants or other onsite individuals.

During our emergency drills, we identified a critical issue: radios often lost charge later in the day, hindering effective communication. To address this, we procured additional radios for staff rotation, ensuring a continuous supply of charged devices. Given the unreliable cell service in our area, radios are fundamental to our Emergency Action Plan.

What Does It Say? C.1.10: Staff Must Know and Use Site-Specific First Aid Procedures

Staff shall know and implement site-specific first aid procedures.

How We Make It Work:

• Know What First Aid is Being Taught: While all first aid training is valuable, establishing site-specific procedures is crucial. It's important to recognize that merely documenting these procedures doesn't guarantee universal application. Collaborate with a first aid provider to differentiate between first aid types that can be administered by anyone and those requiring a certified individual.

• Go Beyond the Certification: Our operation requires all staff to have First Aid and CPR training. Most of the time, these certifications are catered to providing care in a general public environment. We understand that what we do on course, may not be exactly the same as what might be done in an airport. We make sure staff know how to apply their first aid and CPR training to our actual environment that includes trails, snakes, altitude, and braking systems. All staff within our operation must be certified in First Aid and CPR. While many certification courses focus on general public environments, we ensure our staff can apply their training to our specific operational setting, which includes trails, snakes, altitude, and braking systems.

Emergency preparedness isn’t something we do once a year to check a box, it’s part of the culture of a high-functioning operation. When your team knows the plan, practices it, and feels confident implementing it, you’ve got one of the most powerful tools for safety and professionalism at your fingertips. Please remember, your EAP is a Living Document (no pun intended). This document needs to be updated. We do ours annually after we do our incident/accident analysis. We also update our EAP as things change like staff roles, communication tools, and changes in first aid procedures. Don’t let your EAP collect dust!