Emergency Preparedness
Prepare, respond, recover
Emergency preparedness means knowing the Emergency Action Plan (EAP), your assigned role, the alarm signals, evacuation routes, assembly points, and communication channels before anything happens. Guards are often first responders and must act calmly and decisively.
The response sequence
- Recognise and raise the alarm - do not delay to investigate alone.
- Protect life first, then property.
- Follow the EAP: evacuate, shelter-in-place, or lockdown as instructed.
- Communicate using the agreed channels; give clear, factual information.
- Assist people with disabilities and visitors who do not know the building.
- Account for people at the assembly point and report missing persons.
- Preserve the scene and record what happened.
Types of emergency
Fire, medical, bomb threat, suspicious package, power failure, flood, civil disturbance, and hostile intruder. Each has a distinct response: for a bomb threat, do not touch or use radios near a suspicious item; for a hostile intruder, follow lockdown and do not confront armed persons.
Traps to watch
Answers that say 'investigate the alarm before evacuating', or that reward re-entering a building to retrieve belongings. Also watch confusion between evacuation and shelter-in-place.
Rule of thumb
Life safety first, then property, then investigation. Never re-enter until the authorised person declares it safe.
Worked example
A fire alarm sounds and a guest insists it is a drill. Correct answer: treat every alarm as real, guide the guest to the nearest safe exit, do not use lifts, proceed to the assembly point, and report.