Disaster Planning, Prevention and Recovery
Making plans to be executed in the event of a fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, or other disasters are essential for any organization. The Diocese of New York has prepared a Disaster Manual. We encourage every parish office and priest to download and print out a copy of it.
See also the Episcopal Relief and Development Disaster Resources pages for very complete and up-to-date advice and information.
Some of the basic ingredients of a Disaster Plan are:
- The appointment of a Disaster Team. Each member should have a copy of the Plan and should be familiar with its contents
- Day and night telephone numbers of the Rector, wardens, police, fire department, utilities and insurance company, and members of the Disaster Team.
- Evacuation procedures, including the location of emergency exits.
- Locations of fire extinguishers, fire alarms, sprinklers, and smoke and fire detectors.
- Instructions as to how to turn off gas, electric power, and water.
- For the Fire Department, a priority list and the location of items and records to be saved first.
- A list of emergency services, with names and telephone numbers.
- The location of emergency supplies.
- Conduct a disaster drill and inform your local fire and/or departments to participate.
- Keep original copies of insurance policies off-site.
- Keep offsite copies of all important computer files, including regular back-up copies of electronic data.
