ABSTRACT
The “emergency plan” called for members of some departments to do things in ways that were totally different from their normal procedures. Take the case of an explosion followed by a fire, which was caused by a microscopic crack in a natural gas pipeline across the highway from a remote establishment. Whether for a major or a minor fire, the same procedures should always be followed in making head counts of employees, so that everyone can be accounted for. Few situations could be more tragic than the discovery of an injury or fatality. Ineffective plans include unexpected emergency procedures, muddy delegation of authority, crisis communications unknown to all but a few “team” members, or other failures of planning. Plans showing such weaknesses could be expected to have only limited success in preserving the continuity of communications, business transactions, or perhaps even lives.
