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An Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) addresses threats and hazards to the school and safety needs before, during, and after an incident. Threats included in the plan are based on a school’s specific needs and characteristics. The key sections of the EOP consist of Assumptions and limitations, Appendices and Functional Annexes.
Assumptions and Limitations this section of an EOP defines the school’s resources and physical description as well defining the limitations on those resources.
Appendices are the data sets that inform the functional annexes and assumptions and limitations sections of the document. Examples include a threat analysis, a vulnerability analysis and glossary of terms, etc.
Functional Annexes These are the step-by-step plans during an emergency and are commonly available in each classroom and office as a quick response guide or flip chart.
A typical table of contents in an EOP might look like the one below:
Signatory Page (for Superintendent and Board)
Assumptions and Limitations
General Information (about the school and the population)
Concept of Operations (that the school will be using NIMS guidelines
Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities (who is responsible for what in an emergency)
Direction, Control and Coordination (leadership responsibilities in an emergency)
Information Collection, Analysis and Dissemination (responsible parties are identified)
Training and Exercises (with dates and participants listed)
Communications (listing of capabilities and limitations)
Administration, Finance and Logistics (responsible parties are identified)
Plan Development, Maintenance and Distribution (record of distribution by date)
Authorities and References
Appendices
A. Master Schedule
B. Vulnerability Analysis (DO NOT SHARE) PSP only
C. Professional Development (plan for training)
D. Evacuation Procedures
E. Incident Command Trained Personnel (list of names/positions)
F. Agreements, Contracts and MOU’s (with police and others)
G. Maps showing locations of:
1. Evacuation Routes
2. Shelter Locations
3. Fire Alarm Pull Stations
4. Fire Hydrants
5. Fire Extinguishers
6. Hazardous Materials Storage
7. Utility Shut-Offs
8. AED’s
H. Security Meeting Schedule and Meeting Minutes
I. Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan
Functional Annexes
Quick Response Guide (specific steps to be taken in emergencies)
Identify School Threats and Understand Prevention and Preparedness Models Based on Identified Threats.
Each and every school in Pennsylvania is required to have an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and guidance for formulating and updating such plans can be obtained from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA).
Once the School Security Personnel has reached their point of assignment it is imperative that they gain access to and review the school’s Emergency Operations Plan to establish the roles and responsibilities delegated in the plan to their specific assignments. Roles may be different for School Resource Officer, School Police Officers and School Security Officers.
Before an Emergency Operations Plan can be developed it is important to understand the threats and vulnerabilities that each school faces. For that reason, threat, vulnerability and risk analyses are conducted. We need to know what we are preparing for and that those efforts and resources will not be wasted.
It is important to understand the vocabulary as often times the terms are wrongly used interchangeably.
Threats are what can hurt us. Threats can be from nature (tornado, winter storm), from accidents (car accidents, falling downstairs) or from those intent on causing harm or loss.
Vulnerabilities are weaknesses that can be exploited to cause loss to people, property, the process of education and or the reputation of the district/school/ or those that work or attend. Vulnerabilities are greatly reduced if there is sufficient time to detect and respond to a threat before it reaches property or the assets on property.
Risk is what there is to lose (usually described in monetary terms). Of course, people are priceless and cannot be replaced; however, the cost to the district of retraining and replacing a teacher or other position can be calculated.
Conducting a Threat Analyses
Threats are those actions that can hurt us; loss of health or life (people), loss of or damage to property, loss of ability to complete mission and or loss of reputation. Threats come in three categories:
A comprehensive threat analysis evaluates all three categories and not just a single threat such as an active shooter. Below is Table 1: Examples of threats and hazards by category as provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In addition to the list supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, there are other threats to consider:
Natural
Intentional Threats
Accidental Threats
Each threat can then be qualified through research and quantified through scores. There are four categories recommended for the planner to define for each threat. They include:
1. Warning
answers the question: how much warning is provided before the threat is on property?
2. Magnitude
answers the question: how much of the property could potentially be impacted?
3. Frequency
answers the question: how often does this event tend to occur in the area?
4. Resiliency
answers the question: how long will it take to get back to full function after this event?
Once completed the rankings allow resources to be prioritized appropriately.
Categories of loss include:
A high and continued level of preparation should be in place for frequently occurring events such as winter storms, flash flooding, medical incidents, system failures, etc.
For other situations that are very high risk but low frequency (such as fire, active shooter or tornado), required training and exercises will serve to reinforce practiced behaviors and determine needed resources.
In general, we will want to either shelter in place or evacuate; however, different threats have certain nuances that provide for additional response measures added to the common responses. For example, if there is a tornado warning, we would shelter in place; however, it would not be in our classrooms, but in interior hallways or old bomb shelters with our heads covered.
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