How You Can Prepare for Emergencies
The best way to cope with an emergency or recover from its
affects (for example flooding) is to be well prepared.
Discuss with your family or neighbours how to
be prepared in an emergency. For example, are you sure all the
people living in your home know how to contact one another in the
event of an emergency such as a car accident? Do you all know the
safest escape routes from your home in the event of a fire? Are
there any old or infirm neighbours who may need help in an
emergency in your street?
During a major emergency the Bedfordshire
Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF), a group of specialists from the
emergency services, the NHS, Environment Agency and the local
authorities, will co-ordinate the safety and support of people and
property affected by the emergency.
Click on the link for the
BLLRF website which has more
practical details on how to be prepared for emergencies, including
a Home Emergency Kit.
Click on Preparing
for Emergencies link for more practical government
advice on preparing for emergencies. This website also has a
leaflet that you can download or you may order a printed copy for
you to keep on hand.
If you think your home or business may be
subject to flooding, you can check this on the
Environment Agency flood
maps.
If you are at risk and would like early
warning of floods, you can sign up to a free telephone Floodline
Warning Direct service operated by the Environment Agency. Call
Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or sign up online by following the link
Floodline.
You are recommended to get professional help
to carry out safety checks that may prevent emergencies at home.
For example, gas appliances should be safety checked each year.
Check that doors or alleyways are not blocked, preventing you from
exiting your property in the event of a fire.
How Your Business Can Prepare
There are several things you or your business can do to prepare
for an emergency. These pages will give you some guidance and help
so you can be:-
- prepared for an emergency
- cope during an emergency and
- recover from the effects of the emergency
It is important that you make plans on how to cope in an
emergency and continue your business after an emergency. Many
businesses that do not have any plans in place may close after a
few months.
Plan for the worst case scenario; for example
a fire or a flood. Make sure all key staff have a written copy of
the plans and that all staff know what their individual
responsibilities are in an emergency. Try and involve some of your
staff in writing the plans, which are known as Business Continuity
Plans (BCP).
Having a BCP in place will promote confidence
both in your staff and your customers in that you have made plans
to cover emergencies.
A BCP does not have to be complex; it is
simply a set of instructions of what to do at the time of a crisis.
The plan should set out clear roles and responsibilities and list a
series of actions which allow key business activities to continue
in the most difficult circumstances.
Click on the BCM
leaflet which gives details of how to prepare a BCP and a
‘10 minute check’ to see how well you are prepared.
A Business Continuity Guide is
available to help you write your own BCP, with a template to make it
easy to write your own Business Continuity Plan.
The BLLRF website has other practical information for
businesses on how to plan for
emergencies.