Business Emergency Preparedness
Enroll your employees in a Community Emergency Response Course to learn important Personal Emergency Preparedness Skills!

If you think about it, you take precautions everyday, not just when a snowstorm is coming. For instance, you wear your seat belt in your car just in care you are in an accident. You make your children wear helmets when they ride their bicycles. Preparing for an emergency should also be part of your standard business practices.Did you know that when businesses experienc catastrophic data loss:

  • 43% of business never recover?

  • 50% go out of business within two years?

Did you know that 90% of small and medium sized businesses will never recover from a catastrophic event due to a lack of recovery funds available?For these reasons, it is imporant to plan ahead. That way, your business will be prepared and insured and will only be interrupted temporarily when disaster strikes.Small Business Administration, Activsupport Inc.


Step 1:Identify the Hazards

We are suseptible to all types of disasters here in New Hampshire, both natural and manmade. Contact your local Emergency Management Director, Red Cross chapter or our office to learn about the possible hazards in your area. Be sure to check specific threats to your community. For example, does your business or neighborhood lie in a 100 year flood plain?

Learn how your community plans to respond to an emergency. Every community has a Local Emergency Operations Plan which you can review. By discussing this information with your Emergency Management Director, you will learn important information about your community's plan for response, such as evacuation routes and emergency shelters.Find out how your community will notify you of a impending threat, and how they will communicate information to you during and after the emergency.

back to top

Step 2: Create a Plan

Creating and Emergency Business Plan can help prepare you for the unforseeable. Such a plan could make the difference between reopening within a few days after an emergency and closing down indefinitely.

  • Make a prioritized list of vital operations, staff and procedures necessary to operate.

  • Plan for continued payroll.

  • Secure a back-up location for your business in case your current location is not accessible (for example, can you operate out of your home temporarily?).

  • Identify the primary and back-up crisis manager of the company who will serve as the spokesperson in the event of an emergency.

  • Have emergency contact information posted.

  • Identify critical suppliers, as well as back-up suppliers where you obtain necessary supplies/materials to continue business.

  • Back up all vital information including payroll, accoutning systems, sitemaps, insurance policies, and bank account records digitally and store them at an off-site location. Update these records regularly.

  • Meet with your insurance agent to review your plan and assure you are adequately covered in the event of a disaster or temporary closure.

  • Create an Emergency Supply Kit.

  • Learn how to turn off utilities to your building.

  • Post two evacuation routes out each room and from the building.

  • Create a family emergency preparedness plan and encourage your employees to do the same (call (603) 528-2145 for assistance).

  • Review your emergency plan regularly.

back to top

Step 3: Make a Kit

An emergency kit is a collection of basic items a that would probalby be needed to stay safe and comfortable both during and after an emergency.Think about your basic survival needs first: water, food, clean air, warmth, then add to it. Store your kit in a portable container in an easily assessible place and rotate your food and water items every 6-12 months. Below are items listed for a basic emergency kit. Start with these items, then add to it over time. Your emergency kit should be able to sustain you and your employees for 3 days. See our Resource page for examples of more emergency kits.

  • Water (1 gallon per day per person)

  • Nonperishable food, such as canned foods, cereals, and crackers

  • Manual Can Opener

  • First Aid kit

  • Radio and extra batteries

  • Flashlights and extra batters

  • Whistle

  • Moist Towelettes

  • Dust or filter masks

  • Plastic sheeting and duct tape

  • Plastic garbage bags and plastic ties

  • Copies of insurance & any other vital information

back to top

Step 4: Practice

Include employees in the planning process. Hold emergency drills with your employees at least twice a year. Remember to drill for all types of possible hazards your business may face!

back to top
FIRE IS THE MOST COMMON OF ALL BUSINESS DISASTERS!
Your Partner for a Safer & Healthier Community