Special Safety Updates
Plans in Action!
The first month of school has proven emergencies happen when least expected. Plans help program staff know what to do when emergencies, like fires, occur.
Fire at school hosting Big Thought Thriving Minds
When a fire broke out at the school hosting her program, Latricia knew what to do because policies and procedures were created and drills were implemented. Latricia evacuated her students, taking their emergency contact information with her. It was easy to do because all information was near the door in a folder. Latricia also took the cooler and snacks as it was near the beginning of the program. As soon as they safely exited the area, Latricia took attendance again, making sure all children were accounted for. She checked the adults as well to be sure all staff and volunteers followed procedures. Staff kept children occupied while waiting for an all-clear bell, but it seemed to take a very long time. Latricia began calling parents to alert them of the emergency. Those who chose to come immediately to pick up children were asked to sign children out, so there was meticulous detail of how many and which children were still present at the program. Latricia had calm control during this emergency!
Fire at Foxmoor Apartments, housing Dallas Community Lighthouse
Coincidentally, on the same afternoon on the other side of town, staff at DCL started noticing fire engines arriving on the property. It was almost closing time, and students were completing their readings, part of their regular schedule. Parents began picking children up almost immediately. Those who were not picked up on time were walked home by staff members, only to find their parents were out watching the fire. The children were released to their parents at that time. This fire helped Dallas Community Lighthouse review their procedures and add an assessment of where the fire is before releasing children. In this particular case, the children were safer in the program on the other side of the community than they would have been if they were let out to perhaps go to an unsafe area of the property.
Both programs did a great job of keeping their participants safe in an emergency situation. How prepared is your program for fire? Dallas AfterSchool Network's safety check requires fire drills monthly. You can see more details about this checklist here. Find links to resources to improve the safety of your program here.
If your program borrows space, sometimes there are limitations to what can be posted on a wall. Many of our programs in this situation use trifold boards to post information like emergency procedures, emergency escape routes, daily schedules, and codes of conduct. Trifold boards are light, which means they are portable and can be carried from program area to program area.