Emergency preparedness comes into play when planning for your event and the safety of your attendees, speakers, and event staff. It is an important piece of the puzzle. During the site selection process you will need to keep in mind the different aspects of planning for an emergency.

We discussed the topic of “Site Selection & Emergency Preparedness” this week at our monthly tweet chat #MeetGreenChat. We had insightful, informative discussions on twitter and would like to share them here to help you to make informed decisions while planning your next event.

Do you ask the venue for their emergency plan?

The consensus here was for safety reasons venues do not generally provide you their emergency plan to you even if requested, but it never hurts to ask. Here are some of the answers that were provided:



Which emergency scenarios do you prepare for during site inspection?

Consider which scenarios to prepare for such as weather-related, political, terrorism or medical emergencies.




How often is a venue able to provide their emergency response information and protocol?

Generally, the venue does not provide their emergency response plan but they will walk you through the site and help you as much as possible when it comes to planning for emergencies.



What key safety elements are you looking to verify during the site inspection?

There were many great ideas for safety elements including: AED locations, exits, training of staff, and capacity.




What has been the response when you have asked about alarm protocol?

When it came to alarm protocols, mostly positive responses from the venue and clients.




When walking the site how does the venue identify where AED and first aid kits are located?

During the site inspection and walk through, the venue staff should point them out to you but also make sure to ask about them and about staff training.



What are your expectations from the venue in providing emergency preparedness guidance and information?

At minimum a representative of the venue should go over the basics for safety planning. They should also provide emergency contact information, evacuation routes, and local resources.



How do you identify where the emergency management room should be located?

An important take away was the emergency management room should be centrally located but you might not have a say in the decision of the location.


What requirements will you need for the emergency management room?

Resources to have for your emergency management room varied from your response plan, first aid kit, to food & water, team assignments, and access to a phone.


What are some resources you would like to share?

FEMA was a popular resource that was shared. We included our Emergency Response Plan Template as resource.




The discussion on site selection & emergency preparedness was very helpful and we want to thank all of the participants for sharing their knowledge and experience.

The #MeetGreenChat is scheduled monthly on the first Wednesday at 11am. Please join us to connect, share, and learn from one another.