Disaster and Recovery Planning

From the “Field Guide to Emergency Response: A Vital Tool for Cultural Institutions” by Heritage Preservation.

General Supplies

•Batteries, chargers
•Chairs and tables
•Communication devices (e.g., cell phones or walkie-talkies)
•Door wedges
•Fans and dehumidifiers
•Flashlights and emergency lighting
•Garbage bags
•Garden hose with adjustable spray attachment
•Generator
•Scissors, utility knives, extra blades
•Scrub brushes
•Temperature/humidity monitor
•Wet-dry vacuum

Object Salvage and Handling

•Absorbent materials: white towels, paper towels, blotting paper, rags, etc.
•Air bulbs and/or canned air
•Brushes, soft, natural bristle
•Buckets
•Carts
•Cheesecloth
•Clothesline or nylon rope
•Cotton swabs
•Dollies
•Freezer bags, large and small
•Freezer or waxed paper, or polyester film
•Gloves, disposable latex or nitril
•Hair dryers (use COOL setting only)
•Pallets
•Plastic clips or plastic clothespins
•Plastic trays, photo trays, or shallow dishpans
•Plywood, Plexiglas, or other rigid supports
•Polyethylene sheeting or plastic tarps
•Screening, fine mesh, plastic or fiberglass
•Sponges, regular and soot
•Vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter
•Water, preferably distilled

Packing/Labeling

•Adhesive labels for boxes
•Cameras, still or video, and supplies
•Crates, plastic or cardboard
•Marker, waterproof
•Office supplies (general)
•Packing material (e.g., blank newsprint or bubble wrap)
•Tags for labeling objects
•Tape recorder
•Tape, packing or duct

Command Center

•Badges/badge materials
•Batteries, chargers
•Cameras, still or video, and supplies
•Cash and credit cards
•Caution tape rolls
•Chairs and tables
•Communications devices (e.g., cell phones or walkie-talkies)
•Computer, printer, fax machine
•Extension cords (heavy-duty)
•Fans and dehumidifiers
•Flashlights and emergency Lighting
•Generator
•Ground fault circuit interrupter (or surge protector)
•Megaphone/bullhorn
•Paper, general office supplies
•Plywood, plastic sheeting, or tarps (to cover broken windows and doors)
•Poster board and markers
•Pumps, mops & buckets
•Radio (weather, AM/FM)
•Tape recorder
•Tape, duct and masking

First Aid/Rest Station

•Batteries, chargers
•Chairs and tables
•Communications devices (e.g., cell phones or walkie-talkies)
•Eye protection/safety glasses
•Fans
•First aid kits, eyewash kits
•Flashlights and emergency lighting
•Folding cots, blankets
•Food and snacks, non-perishable
•Garbage bags
•Gloves, rubber, disposable, latex or nitrile
•N95 masks
•NIOSH-compliant respirators for lead
•Plastic plates, cups, utensils
•Portable toilets or substitute
•Protective clothing (hard hats, rubber boots, safety-toed boots, disposable overalls, plastic aprons, leather gloves)
•Sanitary supplies, including anti-microbial soap, alcohol hand wash, disposable wipes, and toilet paper
•Water, drinking, three days supply (at least one gallon/person/day)

Because preparation of a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan may seem like an overwhelming and daunting task, we have broken it down into more manageable steps. If you work through the topics as we go, you’ll be gathering up information needed for a comprehensive plan and the overall task will be much easier to undertake and more likely to be completed.

Step 1 – Institutional Information
Step 2 – Prevention
Step 3 – Response and Recovery
Step 4 – Supplies and Services
Step 5 – Scope and Goals
Step 6 – Staff Training
Step 7 – Distribution/Review/Updating

In general, we’ll follow the outline of dPlan, an on-line disaster planning tool which is offered by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Although you may want to take a quick look at the 127 page dPlan template right now, don’t let that initial look spook you away from working through the process with us.

We are going to start you out with small steps that provide your institution with immediately useful tools as you go. We’ll be adding information for the remaining steps in the months ahead, but you needn’t wait for us to move on to the next steps in the dPlan. The sooner you have a viable disaster recovery plan in hand, the sooner you will be able to protect your staff, institution, and collections.

Step 1: Pocket Plan Institutional Information: “Who you gonna call?”

Our first topic, Institutional Information, asks you to gather together, in one handy guide, the contact information for your institution’s use in the event you are ever faced with a disaster, whether it be small, medium or big in size or local, regional or national in scope. Who should YOU and your staff call in an emergency?

The Council of State Archivists provides a template for the Pocket Response Plan, the first page of which is an “Emergency Communication Directory, with contact information for staff, first responders, emergency services, utilities, vendors and suppliers, disaster teams, and other essential individuals and agencies.” The second page of the template provides an “Emergency Response Checklist: an organized list of those actions that each individual should take in the first 24 to 72 hours following a disaster.”

Work through filling out this template and you will be well on your way to organizing your institution’s response in an emergency by making it much quicker and more efficient. Your response team will know exactly who to contact, how to contact each other and you will all be on the same page as to what needs to be done to start addressing the situation. Plus, you’ll find you have ascended the first rung on the ladder heading toward completion of that comprehensive emergency preparedness plan.

Look at the sample contact list we’ve developed for Fort Osage.

Step 2: Risk Assessment and Prevention: Assessment Survey

Our second topic, Risk Assessment and Prevention, provides a framework for assessing safety risks to your staff, institution, and collections. Some risks can be mitigated relatively easily by fixing mechanical and systems problems, relocating endangered materials, increasing security measures, mandating standard preventative and recovery procedures, and so forth. Other risks require more work and resources to handle.
This quick task list is adapted from Lyrasis.

Assess the collections and set salvage priorities in advance
Identify the most important collections and records. Factors to consider include composition of the materials; availability of recovery services; importance to users, research, curriculum; uniqueness; vital or permanent records; ease of salvage; level of possible contamination; number of workers; and the costs of salvage/replacement.

Determine and rank potential hazards
Know your vulnerabilities. Inspect the building and systems maintenance schedules. Consider your location. Identify past disasters and their likelihood of recurrence.

Assess prevention and protection needs

Make lists of Disaster Supplies and Services. Decide which supplies will be stored onsite. Establish relationships with disaster recovery vendors. Consider creating a pre-disaster contract for recovery and/or debris removal. For Services, see: http://www.nedcc.org/resources/suppliers.php .

Consider financial implications

Know how much money is available and who can access it. Review insurance policies for limitations and reporting requirements. Consider other available resources.

Take some time to look at what the Heritage Emergency National Task Force has to report about its pilot Risk Evaluation and Planning Program (REPP). Click on the Tools and Tips link, click the “Access these Tools” button to register online (it’s free), and download tools you’ll use to survey your current disaster and recovery risks.

Step 3: Response, Salvage & Recovery

Your archives, collections and historic structures are at risk for a variety of natural and human induced disasters and emergencies. The potential for natural disasters in the greater Kansas City area include fire, floods, tornadoes/severe thunderstorms, severe winter storms and even earthquakes. Being located near a large metropolitan area, human induced emergencies can include power and other utility failure, arson, vandalism, hazardous material spills, theft, bomb threat or civil disorder.

Step 3 in developing an Emergency Disaster Plan for your institution is Response, Salvage & Recovery. All staff and volunteers need to have ready information at hand to rapidly respond to emergency situations. Always remember to put the safety of visitors, volunteers and staff above all else. Any life-threatening emergency requires an immediate call to 911.

Here is your task list:

1. Assemble a Disaster Response Team – Nominate a disaster team leader and assemble a list of disaster team members. Assign specific duties to each team member (i.e., general supervision, disaster supplies, collections recovery, archive recovery, etc.). Responding to an emergency situation may seem overwhelming, but the first step is to begin to call disaster team members.

Remember that life-threatening situations, fires and other hazards first require calls to the First Responders (i.e., 911, fire, police) listed on the Pocket Plan Institutional Information developed in Step 1.

2. Backup all Data Files – Financial information, collections records and other important institutional data needs to have backup files made and stored at an off-site location. Copies of records should also be stored at an off-site location.

3. Establish Salvage Priorities – Rank your archives, objects and institutional records by salvage priority, and establish salvage priorities in the event of an emergency. In other words, what records and objects do you want to save first? Contact your local fire protection district and discuss methods and priorities for fire-fighters responding to an emergency at your institution. List the location of this material in your plan, and make sure staff and first responders know the location of priority salvage material. These will be the things your institution deems to be most important and that the firefighters will attempt to save first.

If disaster strikes, and you need immediate advice in regard to emergency salvage of archives and museum objects, call the Disaster Assistance Hotline 978-470-1010 at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Also use the Disaster Resources listed on the first tab of this webpage (above).

4. Assemble Insurance Information – Familiarize the disaster team with the institution’s insurance information and how claims are covered.

If a disaster happens, notify your insurance agent as soon as possible.

5. Establish Emergency Evacuation Procedures – In the event of an emergency, have a plan in place to evacuate facilities. The first priority is visitors and guests. Establish an emergency assembly area and command center for staff and disaster team members if the institution is not accessible.

6. Acquire an Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel – We highly recommend that institutions purchase and post the Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel in an accessible location within their institution. This wheel will provide basic emergency action steps for the early stages of document and object salvage. They can be purchased for $8.95 at the National Institute for Conservation at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/catalog/Wheel1.htm and its information is available from FEMA at http://coop.fema.gov/plan/ehp/ers_wl2.shtm.

Step 4: Supplies and Services

Pre-Disaster Communication with Emergency Services:
-Communicate with local emergency services before a disaster. Have contact numbers for these emergency services and have regular inspections.
-Ensure that you assign specific staff members to be the liaisons with the emergency services contacts. Have backup liaisons.
-Go over your collections priorities and disaster procedures with emergency personnel.
-Important departments to contact include the Fire Department, Police Department and the Emergency Management Agency.

Emergency Supplies:
-In House: Have in house supplies on hand in a kit. Have a list of the contents of the kit and check contents regularly. The dplan website has a list of suggested supplies.
-External: Have a list of external supplies for resources that you may need more of or do not have on site; for example, freezers. The dplan website has a list of suggested supplies.
-Staff Supplies: What supplies does your staff have at home that you could use during an emergency? Keep a list.

Emergency Funds:
Have a person authorized to use emergency funds and procedures for doing so. Who can use the institutional credit card? Who can authorize large purchases? Have a list of additional, external funding sources for emergencies.

Personnel:
-Volunteers: Have a list of volunteers able to help in case of emergency. Split these volunteers into experienced volunteers, general volunteers and temporary volunteers. Have contact numbers for all volunteers who have offered to help during an emergency; have a calling tree. Know if any volunteers have first aid experience.
-Staff: Have an emergency calling tree. Have roles pre-determined for staff members during an emergency. Have regular training for staff members.

Step 5: Scope and Goals

This disaster plan addresses emergencies related to collections; it does not addresses emergencies involving people, whether personnel or visitors. Your institution should have a plan in place for people-related emergencies. Human safety is the most important concern in an emergency. Collection protection and salvage should only be started after everyone’s safety is verified, and the building is declared safe to enter. There should not be any actions involved in collection protection or salvage that will endanger human safety!

This plan focuses on the most likely risks faced by institutions and sites in the Kansas City area:
1) natural disasters such as fire, floods, tornadoes/severe thunderstorms, severe winter storms and earthquakes, and
2) human induced emergencies such as power and utility failure, arson, vandalism, hazardous material spills, theft, bomb threat, or civil disorder.

Small scale emergencies may be able to be handled by staff using the instructions found in your disaster plan.
Larger emergencies will require additional assistance and a more detailed recovery plan. I am also not sure what to put here in reference to the plan name, page numbers, appendices, etc.

Step 6: Staff Training

Disaster Planning Team
Create a disaster planning team. Team members should have regular meetings and training sessions. They should also be encouraged to read books on disaster planning and to participate in other training courses. The disaster team should have a leader to coordinate; each member of the team should have specific roles.

Disaster Response Team
The disaster team should be trained and fully familiar with the disaster plan. They should also gain practice working together. Each member of the team should have specific roles. “Hands on” training is best, for example, workshops, first aid, CPR training, and mock disasters.

Some specific elements for the team to cover are:
-Team building
-Handling wet and damaged collections
-Recovery procedures
-Use of equipment
-Health and safety during a disaster
-Use of protective gear (clothing and equipment)
-Knowledge of mold exposure
-Crisis counseling
-General Staff Training

All staff should be trained in basic disaster procedures. They should know how to recognize a problem, what immediate action to take and who to contact.

Preventative procedures, emergency procedures, and evacuation routes should be reviewed semi-annually with staff. In addition, training on operation of the security system, the climate control system, the fire system and training on use of a fire extinguisher should also be performed semi-annually. Small scale and large scale disaster exercises should also be done with staff.
Know who on staff has CPR and First Aid training. Ensure these people have taken a course and know when the course was taken.

Step 7: Distribution, Review, and Updating Your Plan

Distribution
You should have a list of all staff members who have a copy of your disaster plan (as well as any others, like the fire department) and where they have it stored. All departments should have a copy, and there should be a copy at all points of contact (e.g. reference desk, front desk). There should also be copies stored off site. All members of the Disaster Response Team should keep a copy in their car and a copy at work.

Review and Updating
This plan should be reviewed and updated yearly. Your plan should include a list of the staff member that will update each of the following sections:
-Staff lists/Disaster Team Lists
-Preventative Maintenance
-Opening and Closing Procedures
-Facilities Information/Floor Plans
-Information Technology
-Insurance
-Institutional Salvage Priorities
-Evacuation Instructions
-Emergency Numbers
-In-house supplies
-External supplies/services
-Volunteer list
-Areas for relocation/temporary storage
-Communication with emergency services
-Availability of emergency funds
-Staff training
-Other

This list is provided as a source of useful information to
our members. It is a starting point for your own resource
list. It does not constitute a professional recommendation
of individual conservators, and Heritage League is not
responsible for their work for your institution or
collections. As with any such list, it is incumbent upon you
to satisfy yourself as to conservators’ skills and
references before engaging them to perform any work.