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Your first actions in an emergency

Rule No. 1.

Remember: In the course of ongoing emergency all people and all infrastructure is under risk. Your task is to prepare for key and foreseeable threats.

 

Rule No. 2.

Even events you predicted can follow an unpredictable course. Being prepared for an emergency does not mean you can prevent the threat. But it means that at a critical moment, you will know what to do and have the necessary items and equipment at hand.

 

Emergencies :

  • War and armed conflicts

  • Natural disaster

  • Hostilities

  • Unrest

  • Internal technical accidents

  • Human-made accidents

 

In any situation, there is always a clear line of security priorities:

  1. People:

  • Visitors (as they are not as aware of the layout of the premises and will require personnel’s help)

  • Personnel

  1. Collection

  2. Building

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Step-by-step guidelines on how to protect the museum as much as possible (people, collections, premises) from the threats:

 

Risk analysis

Carry out a risk analysis regarding your situation in the most specific terms possible: architecture of the building, staff, nature of your collection, geographic location etc.

 

Develop a response plan

A good practice would be to engage the widest possible range of museum workers in the risk analysis and in the development of a response plan. This will significantly increase the level of readiness and strengthen the sense of responsibility for the safety of the museum among the entire team. Take the following actions:

  • Establish a crisis response unit, form response teams (assign roles for each team member. Please note that these roles are not their job positions, but rather temporary functions).

  • Develop a step-by-step action plan.

  • Make sure all the premises and the necessary equipment are accessible.

  • Make sure that first aid kits and personal protective equipment are available and accessible.

  • Analyze the schemes of evacuation, fire safety, utility networks.

  • Develop an internal notification system (staff, management bodies).

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Preparation: training, preparation of the necessary equipment, prioritization of museum items:

  • General preparation (conduct an audit of the current situation: access to all premises, availability of the necessary materials, relevance of the evacuation plans, security, etc.)

  • Preparation for a specific situation (if the danger is obvious)

  • Identifying the priority of museum items taking into account Value (artistic, historic, scientific) and Vulnerability (for example, if there is a risk of flooding, paper has a much higher priority than ceramics)

 

Rapid response to the event

If an emergency occurs, be prudent. Make sure to call professional first responders and avoid doing anything that can put your life and health or that of others in jeopardy.

 

Overcoming the consequences

Wrong actions at this stage can cause additional harm to the collection or the building. Consult and involve experts from outside.

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