Share thisThere are many points to consider when developing a disaster plan for your animal facility.
If you are reading this article, it is likely that you were entrusted with the task of devising a disaster plan for your facility. I can relate, as the task to develop such a plan that worked for all of the animal care units at the University of Michigan’s decentralized facilities fell to me not long ago. I was handed a large box with plans from other facilities, reference material on remediation, three ring binders from conferences on disaster planning, books, the list went on and on. Being diligent, I immediately began reviewing all of these documents, and what I found didn’t really help me in creating a plan for my institution. The materials were either specific to a facility (i.e., if the power fails call Bob; Joe has a truck to move animals in; Randy lives close by), or were so generic they didn’t provide any details at all. While the reference materials were helpful, providing examples of what can happen and advice on what to do, nothing I read really seemed to provide a clear, concise path to creating an organized plan responders could follow. It seemed a combination of facility details and advice from the reference materials would be the best course of action to follow. My outline would become the University’s Animal Facility Disaster Planning Guidelines, allowing each individual facility manager to create an effective plan quickly and efficiently. It also allowed the facility managers to have a clear expectation of what the IACUC would require of them in their planning documents and would assure the IACUC that animals would be maintained in humane conditions during emergency conditions.
Designate the Leaders of the Response Effort
The first point to address is: Who is in charge of the response efforts? The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (ILAR), indicates that a “colony manager or responsible veterinarian should be involved.” Step one in our plan was simply designating this person. We advised creating a leadership team, as one person cannot perform all of the planning needed. We called ours CIRT, for Critical Incident Response Team. It really doesn’t matter what you call this team, but it is important that an acronym be involved. Who is on this team will largely depend on the make-up and size of the facility. Our largest animal care unit oversees approximately 90% of the animals on campus, so including computer personnel, office staff, area supervisors, and other veterinary staff provided a well rounded team. If you’re a smaller facility, then the leadership team may not be this diverse. Remember that this team is really only here to organize, write, and direct the disaster response efforts. Later in the plan, other individuals will be included, as advisors (key contacts) that can provide technical expertise or information. Animal care staff will be included as responders to be directed by the leadership team.
Designate a Command Center
Once the team is in place, the next step is to decide the location the leadership team will direct from in an emergency. We call this location the Command Center, or CC, in our outline. It is important for the people who will be assisting the leadership team to know where this location is and what they can find there, aside from instructions. The CC should be centrally located and allow ready access to the area, or areas, of concern. If you have a large facility, it would be a good idea to have several locations identified and let your responding staff know which one will be used either during practice drills or when calling them in for a response. Again, it should be located close to where the response efforts will be focused. An area in the CC should be devoted to storing items that will be used by responding staff. Storing items (i.e., food, water, flashlights, extra batteries, first aid supplies) that responders will need allows distribution and monitoring by the leadership team. Staff can report to the CC, receive instructions and supplies from the leadership team, and then head out to resolve/gather information on the situation. Ideally, the CC should be immune from loss of function. In other words, have back-up power for your CC area. Power loss is often the single factor that creates cascading disruptions in these situations. Without power there are issues of temperature, communication, light, water, and potentially, issues of access.