Emergency Preparedness – have a plan

The disruptive nature of the COVID pandemic put many things on hold for two years – one thing that is certainly not on hold is the risk of fire and other emergencies that continue to happen. And these can happen anytime, anywhere and to anybody.

It’s crucial for all organisations, particularly those with high-risk occupancy, to have a clear, step-by-step evacuation plan that explains exactly what everyone should do in the event of an emergency.

To this end, Overstrand Deputy Mayor, Cllr Lindile Ntsabo and Mayco member of Protection Services, led a team from Overstrand Fire Services, to assist Arabella Country Estate and Golf Course with a scheduled emergency exercise to test their evacuation plans and drills last week, 13 September 2022. This date was chosen to coincide with Tourism month.

These evacuation exercises test the readiness of the emergency services in case of an emergency and evaluate response times for the evacuation of organisations with high occupancy such as hotels, schools and old age homes. It also tests the practicality of an emergency evacuation plan. Debriefing is done by the Fire Services Department after each exercise and the necessary amendments are made, if needed.

Debriefing is done by the Fire Services Department after each exercise and the necessary amendments are made, if needed.

Typically, these evacuation exercises are co-ordinated by the Overstrand Municipal Fire Services and could involve various stakeholders such as municipal traffic services and law enforcement, South African Police Service (SAPS), private security companies, neighbourhood watch and ambulance services.

Source: Overstrand