Lessons From Ground Zero: Evacuation & Emergency Action Plans

Produced

• Aug 2002

Key Features

Purchase of these VHS or DVD video programs includes a CD-ROM with Leader’s Guide for each of the two videos, and 10 handbooks for each of the programs. The multilingual DVD's include English, Spanish and Portuguese versions all on one DVD.

This two-part training documentary uses the backdrop of the evacuation and cleanup of the World Trade Center site to help your employees and safety team members understand the vital importance of emergency planning and evacuation drills. These unique programs will also help your team “think the unthinkable” in creating, implementing and refining your emergency action plan.

Lessons from Ground Zero: Evacuation (23 minutes)

No one can imagine what its like to live through something like the WTC attacks. For many of those who survived, the experience was fraught with emotion -- leaving little time or opportunity to think rationally. This first video in the series recounts the two-hour evacuation that took place immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center. It features real footage, real experts, and several real persons who successfully evacuated the building. We are shown the amazing contrast between the successful evacuations of more than 18,000 survivors, versus the much slower evacuation that took place following the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. Lessons from Ground Zero: Evacuation is for all employees; The message is clear and the impact is dramatic: Take evacuation drills seriously and provide input on how evacuations can be improved.

This dramatic video highlights:

• Importance of cooperation/communication among all stakeholders
• Critical necessity of proper evacuation drills making procedures second nature
• Need for backup systems for electricity, communications and ventilation systems
• Importance of employee input on ways the evacuation plan can be improved
• Requirement to identify all possible routes of escape.

Lessons from Ground Zero: Emergency Action Plan (28 minutes)

Despite 4,000 injuries and many near-fatalities, not a single worker was killed during the rescue, recovery and cleanup operations that followed the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Safety professionals quickly assembled an Emergency Action Plan which helped protect those involved in this massive effort. This film will help your emergency action team understand the importance of their work, and guide them in creating and refining your plan. It can also be used to help all employees grasp why implementing such a plan is so vital. Lessons from Ground Zero: Emergency Action Plan is directed primarily to the emergency action team responsible for creating, implementing and refining your EAP.

This video addresses the following aspects of an Emergency Action Plan:

• Controlling the chaos created by any emergency event
• Maintaining safe practices during emergency response
• Provide emergency teams with blueprints for each of your facilities
• Dealing with dangers posed by onsite hazardous materials and biohazards
• Dealing with hazards of working on/through piles of debris
• Protecting against respiratory hazards
• Proper use of personal protective equipment
• Decontamination of personnel and equipment

LEADER'S GUIDES CD-ROM:

The CD-ROM with supporting leader's guides contains helpful discussion points, and a unique tool called, Preparing Your Emergency Action Plan, that will help you develop or improve your own Emergency Action Plan.  The CD-ROM features an in-depth description of each of the key elements of your plan including establishing a planning team, analyzing capabilities and hazards, direction and control, communications, life safety, property protection, community outreach, as well as recovery and restoration.  It also covers Evacuation Planning and the Americans with Disabilities Act and specific hazards like fire, hurricanes and HAZMAT incidents.  The Emergency Action Plan template will walk you, step-by-step, through creating your written plan.