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RIGHT after an emergency, you may be confused or disoriented. Stay CALM.
HELP THE INJURED Help anyone who is injured. Get your emergency survival kit and your first aid kit.
LISTEN TO THE RADIO Listen to your local radio station for instructions. If you don’t already have a wind-up radio get one now. SOS has a great 4 in 1 wind-up radio and flashlight
DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE Don’t use the telephone. Emergency crews will need all available lines.
CHECK YOUR HOME Check for damage to your home. Use a flashlight – do not use matches or turn on electrical switches if you suspect damage or smell gas. Check for fires, fire hazards or other household hazards. Sniff for gas leaks, starting at the water heater. If you smell gas, turn off the main valve, open windows and get everyone outside quickly. Shut off any other damaged utilities. Clean up spilled medicines and bleaches. Confine or secure your pets. Check on your neighbours, especially the elderly or people with disabilities.
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Time from time we get asked what do I do DURING a disaster. This blog is some insight to basic procedures but more information should be south out from Emergency Preparedness Canada, your provincial territorial emergency measures organization or your local Red Cross.
DURING AN EARTHQUAKE If you are in a building STAY INSIDE. Stay away from windows. get under a heavy desk or table and hang on. If you can’t get under something strong, flatten yourself against an interior wall, protect your head and neck. If you are OUTSIDE go to an open area. Move away from buildings or any structure that can collapse. Stay away from power lines and downed electrical wires. If you are in the CAR stop the car and STAY in it. Avoid bridges, overpasses and underpasses, buildings or anything that could collapse on you or the car.
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Safety committee members must…
- Set a good example. Committee members must set a good example! Committee members must be above average in their safe work habits and their positive attitude about safety.
- Be visible. Names of safety committee members should be posted prominently in their departments. They are the strong right hand to supervisors. Some companies also give safety committee badges to identify their committee members.
- Hold regular meetings. Safety committees must meet formally (usually at least once a month).
- Serve as a sounding board for safety and health activities. Positive management groups ask their safety committees to be sounding boards on proposals for new safety rules, developing changes or additions to personal protective equipment, participate in safety fairs and safety victory days
Duties
Work safely yourself-set the example in the department.
- Attend and actively participate in safety committee meetings.
- Work with your supervisor to eliminate hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices in the department. Speak to your fellow employees if you believe that they are engaged in an unsafe work practice; report things which you feel you can’t handle to your supervisor for further action.
- Investigate with your supervisor recordable case injuries that occur in your department. Participate in Plant Review Committee activities on lost workday case accidents or industrial illnesses in your department.
- Listen to employee suggestions about safety and bring those that appear to have merit to the department supervisor for review.
- Conduct department safety inspections in the first week of each month. Each quarter participate with a plant management member in a facility wide safety audit.
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Will you think clearly and logically in a crisis? Not many of us can. So, do your clear and logical thinking now BEFORE a disaster strikes.
KNOW Find out what natural disasters could happen in your community. Know what to expect during each emergency.
LOOK Anticipate what could go wrong in your home or office and take corrective action. If you live in British Columbia, an earthquake zone, move or secure items that could fall and injure you (books, shelves, mirrors, paintings) . Secure items that could tip and start a fire (water heater, gas appliances).
PREPARE Your best protection in any emergency is knowing what to do. Read a brochure, take an emergency preparedness seminar, and act on the suggestions. Get an emergency kit ready that will keep you and your family or employees self sufficient for at least 72 hours. Make sure everything is an easy to carry container (our kits come in backpacks) in case you have to evacuate. Keep a smaller survival kit in the car (our SQ6005 is perfect).
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Emergency preparedness starts with you. In your day to day living, disasters may seem a distant possibility. Yet natural disasters, such as floods or tornadoes, technological or environmental accidents, such as chemical spills; or service disruptions, such as power failures, can strike any community, including yours, at any time.
If you are unprepared for a disaster, it can shatter your life. expect the unexpected and plan for it… Knowing what to do when a disaster strikes will help you better control the situation and be in a better situation and be in a better position to recover more quickly.
No community is equipped to handle all the demands of a catastrophe. Help your community by helping yourself. Make sure everyone in your family knows what to do before, during and after an emergency.
Have a plan.
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In British Columbia, all employers, regardless of their size, are required by law to provide a safe working environment. They must ensure that all employees are properly trained and supervised; they must work with employees to identify hazards in the workplace and ensure that hazards are eliminated, isolated or minimized.
Every workplace in BC must provide a first aid program and supplies, first aid training for responders, and accessible first aid kits. A workplace is defined as anywhere your employer requires you to be as part of your job, whether on-site or off-site. This includes places such as the lunchroom, the parking lot, any motor vehicle you drive as part of work, and any equipment you use such as a forklift, ladder or step stool. Your vehicle is also a workplace as you drive from site to site.
Employers and employees are required to set goals around health and safety and then work together to achieve them. Everyone has a part to play in improving health and safety in the workplace.
All workers in British Columbia have 4 basic Occupational Health and Safety rights (OH&S):
- The right to know about hazards in the workplace
- The right to participate in OH&S activities
- The right to refuse unsafe work
- The right to no retaliation(discipline or being fired) for raising OH&S concerns
You can make your workplace safer by:
- Being involved in the process to improve health and safety. For example; offer to sit on your health and safety committee or to be the workplace first aid attendant,
- Sticking to correct procedures and using the right equipment,
- Wearing the appropriate protective clothing and equipment if required,
- Helping new employees, trainees and visitors to the workplace understand the right safety practices and why the practices exist, and
- Communicating any safety concerns to your employer.
- Keep an eye out for unsafe premises and equipment,
- Inadequate or misused safety equipment,
- Bad work practices and,
- Lack of information about equipment or workplace processes.
