September is National Preparedness Month and a reminder of the importance of preparing for workplace emergencies. Remember in 2017 as we watched with worry as Hurricane Harvey dealt southeast Texas a devastating blow during the last days of August, and our thoughts and prayers went out to folks across Florida and the Southeast following Hurricane Irma.

Although Colorado is landlocked, your business should prepare for any number of workplace emergencies, including floods, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, fires, toxic gas releases, chemical spills, radiological accidents, explosions, civil disturbances and workplace violence.

Steps toward emergency preparedness

The theme of National Preparedness Month this year is “Disasters don’t plan ahead. You can.” In keeping with the theme, Pinnacol’s Safety Services team encourages your organization to take the following steps:

• Brainstorm the worst-case scenarios based on your business or industry.
• Develop an emergency action plan that addresses Occupational Safety and Health Administration and others' requirements.
• Test the plan with mock drills and exercises.
• Improve your plan and preparedness based on test results and experience.

Pinnacol resources

Contact your Pinnacol safety consultant to help you walk through these steps.

We also offer a library of emergency preparedness resources.

• ‍Sample emergency preparedness program‍
• Emergency response contact matrix‍
• Preparing for the unexpected infographic‍
• View all resources

Other preparedness resources

Some other helpful resources include:

• ‍Ready Business, a joint public service program of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security‍
• OSHA‍
• American Red Cross‍
• National Safety Council‍
• National Fire Protection Association, including the NFPA 1600 resource they have developed which is an actual standard to help prepare for an emergency.‍
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment‍
• Your nearest fire station and FEMA office provide training, templates, requirements and support.

We also encourage you to contact Pinnacol’s Safety On Call at safetyoncall@pinnacol.com. Our Safety Services team is committed to helping you protect your employees in the event of an emergency.