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Emergency action plan template

An emergency action plan is the written answer to what everyone on a site does in an emergency: how it is reported, where people go, who does what, who stays to make critical equipment safe, and how you know everyone is out. In the United States OSHA's emergency action plan standard (29 CFR 1910.38) applies to many workplaces and expects the plan in writing once an employer has more than ten employees; check the rules that apply where you are. This template has five landscape pages: site facts and emergency numbers, roles with a named backup for each, a warden coverage grid by area and shift, a starting procedure for fire, chemical release, severe weather, medical emergency and power loss, a drill record with a yearly review, and a worked example. The Excel version adds a roster with training dates, coverage that flags any area with people but no warden, a drill log that works out minutes and checks the head count, and a yearly review date. It is a general starting point, not legal advice.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the emergency action plan templateSite, address, plan owner and review date above a table of twelve site facts and a table of emergency numbers.
Site facts and emergency numbersRoles with a backupWarden coverage by area and shiftSteps for five scenariosDrill record with head countYearly reviewWorked example
Filled-in Emergency action plan template: a 180-person plant with one warden gap
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 5 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to write or update an emergency action plan

  • When a site has no written plan, or the one it has is a page nobody has read since it was filed.
  • After a layout change, a new shift pattern, a new hazard such as a chemical store, or a change of coordinator.
  • Before an audit, an insurer visit or a customer visit that will ask for the plan and the drill records.
  • After a drill or a real event shows that people did not know where to go or who was in charge.
  • At least once a year, as a review with the people who carry the plan out.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Fill in the site facts and numbers

    Write how many people are on site by shift, how the alarm sounds, where the assembly points are, where responders enter and where the shut-offs are. Add the emergency numbers on the same page, so the plan can be used without looking anywhere else.

  2. 2

    Name a person and a backup for every role

    A coordinator, a deputy, area wardens, first aiders, a shutdown lead, a head count lead and a person to meet responders. People are on leave and shifts differ, so every role needs a named backup.

  3. 3

    Check warden coverage by area and shift

    List each area and the people usually there on each shift, then the warden for each box. An empty box is a gap. The night shift and the weekend are where gaps usually hide.

  4. 4

    Adapt the scenario steps

    Start from the steps given for fire, chemical release, severe weather, medical emergency and power loss. Change them to fit your site, add the signal people will hear and where they go, and add any scenario your site has that these do not cover.

  5. 5

    Train, then drill

    Walk everyone through the plan when they join and when it changes. Run a drill, time it from the alarm to the last area counted, and compare the people counted with the people expected.

  6. 6

    Fix what the drill shows and review the plan

    Write down each problem with an owner and a date, and close it. Review the whole plan at least once a year, and whenever the layout, hazards, people or contacts change.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a made-up plant of 180 people on two shifts, with four assembly points and five areas.

  • Shift 1 has 122 people and shift 2 has 58. The coverage grid lists each area with its wardens.
  • Laid out by area and shift, the grid shows the warehouse has 9 people on shift 2 and no warden. The plan looked complete until it was drawn this way.
  • The first drill took 9 minutes and counted 118 of 118. It found a warehouse door blocked by pallets, so the pallets moved and a keep-clear zone was marked.
  • The second drill, on shift 2, took 13 minutes and counted 56 of 58. Two people had been sent home early without signing out, so a sign-out step was added to the shift handover and two wardens were named for the warehouse.

Both fixes came from counting and timing a real drill against a roster, not from rereading the plan. The numbers are invented to show how the form is used.

Common mistakes

  • No backup for a role

    A plan that names one person per role fails the day that person is on leave. Name a backup for each role and put both on the roster.

  • Plan written for the day shift only

    The night shift and the weekend have fewer people and often no one with a role. Check coverage for every shift, not just the busiest one.

  • Never timing a drill

    A drill with no times and no head count shows nothing. Record the alarm time, the time the last area was counted, and the people expected against counted.

  • Filing it and forgetting it

    A plan nobody has read is not a plan. Post it, walk new people through it, review it every year and after every change.

  • Copying another site's plan unchanged

    Another site has other exits, hazards and shifts. Use a template as a starting point and fit it to your own layout and people.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite safety procedures start from marketplace templates, including risk assessments; anyone reports a hazard as a tag from a QR code, and a serious hazard can become a CAPA project with root cause analysis.

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FAQ

Emergency action plan template: common questions

  1. An emergency action plan is a written plan for what people on a site do in an emergency: how it is reported, how and where they leave, who does what, who stays to make critical equipment safe, and how everyone is accounted for afterwards.

  2. A way to report emergencies, evacuation routes and assembly points, steps for anyone who must make critical operations safe before leaving, a head count after evacuation, rescue and medical duties, and who to contact for more information. This template also adds roles with backups, scenario steps and a drill record.

  3. In the United States, OSHA's emergency action plan standard (29 CFR 1910.38) lets an employer with ten or fewer employees communicate the plan orally, and expects it in writing above that. Rules differ by country and by state, so check the ones that apply to your site.

  4. There is no single answer. Many sites drill at least once a year and cover every shift; some drill more often for higher risk. Set the interval from your local rules, your insurer and what your drills show, and write it down. The Excel version works out the next drill date from the interval you set.

  5. No. It is a general starting point. Adapt it to the law that applies to your site and to your own procedures, and have the people who carry it out review it.

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