Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

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CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011If an injury occurs… Alert 911, let them know the location of the injured person interms of cross streets.Do not enter obviously unsafe buildings. This seems like common sense, but it may beeasy to forget when observing building after building in the field that has not collapsedyet. For the most part, unsafe buildings are those that have suffered partial or completecollapse. A building that is racked should automatically be considered unsafe to enter,not only for the occupants, but also for the SAP team. The team should also look forevidence of separation between walls and framing before entering a building. If suchexists, and the team needs to enter the building, the areas near the separated walls must beavoided.Do not enter buildings or part of buildings located on potentially unstable slopes.The condition found in Figure 6-19 is a good example of this; there is simply no reason toenter such a dangerous building. If a building is sited on an unstable slope, it is notknown when the slope will give way. With aftershocks especially, the conditions canrapidly change, and what seemed stable a few minutes ago may not be stable now.Basically, the SAP team must make sure that the building‟s foundation and soils cansupport the added weight of the team; if there is any question at all about this, the teammust not enter the building.Do not enter buildings where falling hazards exist that can block exits. Thecondition where a length of parapet or other feature falls and blocks the building exitswhile evaluators are in the building is a real concern. The team must be aware of thepotential for falling hazards before entering or exiting a building.If the building being evaluated is leaning excessively or is significantly out of plumb,do not enter. Both of these conditions represent a racked condition, which easily canplace the building in a „failure mode.‟ It is only a question of time before such a buildingcollapses due to P-delta effects, or lateral loading from wind or aftershocks. It does nottake much racking to place a building into a collapse hazard. Whenever possible, stay onthe high side of the building (opposite direction of the racking) and be aware of thepotential hazard.Before entering any building, make sure exit doors are fully operable, pathways areclear, and there are no falling hazards that could obstruct the pathway. If pathwaysare blocked by debris, do not bother to enter! A SAP evaluator can end up in danger ifsudden evacuation becomes necessary due to an aftershock, and the pathway is blockedby debris that may move and become impossible to get past. Also, before entering abuilding, the SAP evaluator must make sure that the exit doors work, and that there areno falling hazards inside the building (such as cabinets or shelves) that can block doorsand prohibit exiting. When entering a building, make sure to keep in fairly direct accessto those exits that are operational.Be aware of hanging or exposed electrical wires. Always assume that electrical wiresare alive! There should be virtually no case where one needs to move an electrical wire.If one does have to be moved, take every reasonable precaution!After the Rapid Evaluations, there may be a need for subsequent evaluations. These may beDetailed Evaluations, or more Rapid Evaluations needed because of aftershock activity. If anunsafe building must be entered that has not been braced, shored, or otherwise stabilized, thefollowing steps must be taken:212
CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011Visually assess the damage from the exterior and evaluate the potential for collapse.If the building appears to be facing imminent collapse, do not enter! No matter theissues, SAP teams must never enter a building that is facing imminent collapse. Such astructure must be braced, shored, or otherwise stabilized before anyone goes inside.Once you are able to enter the building, stay away from weaker open areas or rooms.One member of the team must remain outside to monitor the building while theother members are inside. The team member outside the building must know where theother team members are. If the situation becomes dire inside the building, the teammember outside the building must be told immediately so the necessary assistance can berequested from first responders.To the extent possible, verify the stability of every room or part of a structure beforeentering. Determine those parts of the building that can be entered safely. If there areany indications of instability contributing to an imminent collapse hazard, do not enterthat portion of the building. Verify the stability of each room before entering. If there isany indication of an imminent collapse hazard for any part of a structure, do not enter it!Do not enter a building in which a hazardous material spill or release has occurred.Before entering a building, observe the warning placard on the outside of the buildingthat describes the hazardous materials hazard. (The hazardous materials placards will bediscussed in Section 7.3.) If there is a hazardous materials spill potential, be aware ofthis before seeking entry to the building. If the SAP evaluator observes through windowssuspicious liquids spilled onto the floor, or opens the door and finds an unusual orobnoxious smell present, the building should be posted UNSAFE (if it has not beenalready) and the hazardous materials response team notified at once. The SAP evaluatorshould not linger to try to figure out the nature of the spill; such a decision could bedeadly.These are basic safety rules that are „common sense‟ when dealing with dangerous conditions.However, it is very easy during a SAP response to get wrapped up in the cause of safetyassessment and helping others, and forget the safety rules that will protect the individual fromharm. SAP evaluators are urged to insert the safety checklist in the back of this manual into theATC-20-1 field manual, and refer to it frequently while performing safety assessments.Figure 7-1 is a startling photo of a swarm of flies encountered by SAP evaluators whileresponding to Hurricane Katrina. This is not the only photo available of such swarms from thatresponse. Flies, mosquitoes, ticks, rats, and snakes can become very troublesome after a disaster,and can present health and safety hazards to SAP evaluators in the field. SAP evaluators areencouraged to bring and use insect repellant, and to be careful about hygiene in the field. Theremay be other explosions in animal species that creates problems after a disaster; stay informedon local conditions, and be prepared.Figure 7-2 shows a shed that floated onto a fence; the SAP evaluator is getting a little too closeto this! SAP evaluators are encouraged to be careful when evaluating unstable structures not toget too close.Figures 7-3 and 7-4 show some vehicles stranded onto buildings. SAP evaluators must avoidwalking under these sorts of things! The roofs are not designed for these types of loads!213
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Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

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