Tornado Emergencies Procedure

1112 (950) P
May 14, 2012
EMS TRANSMISSION: 5/14/2012
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2012-038
Expires: 9/30/2013
To: All State Office Employees
From: State Director
Subject: Tornado Emergencies Procedures
The following procedures are to be followed in case of a tornado emergency:
1. When a tornado warning is issued for Cheyenne, a National Weather Service (NOAA) weather
alert is broadcast on emergency weather radios and/or the Civil Defense siren will sound.
Emergency weather alert radios are located on all floors occupied by BLM in the State Office (see
attached floor maps). Tornado warnings from any one of these sources will trigger emergency
tornado procedures described in this document.
2. After receiving official notification of a tornado warning, a member of the Emergency Action
Team (EAT) (team consists of State Director, Associate State Director, Deputy State Directors, Chief
Warden, Business Manager, and evacuation wardens) will make the following announcement on the
public address system:
Attention everyone, attention everyone. A tornado warning is in effect. Everyone in the building
should proceed immediately to the designated tornado shelter on the first floor.
The announcement will be repeated.
The tornado shelter includes the interior hallway on the north half of the first floor and first two parts
of the main conference room.
3. All employees and visitors will then proceed in a quick but orderly manner to the first floor and
assemble in the hallway that leads from the lobby to the main conference room, rooms 107B and
107C of the main conference room, and hallway west of the main conference room towards the
Information Resource Management (IRM) section. No one will be allowed to assemble in
Room 107A of the conference room because of the windows in the north section of the room.
United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-1828
IN REPLY REFER TO:
2
4. Employees are discouraged from using elevators for tornado evacuations and should use stairwell
exits to expedite the evacuation. Elevators are reserved for the mobility impaired and their escorts.
Supervisors must ensure mobility impaired employees have evacuation assistance.
5. The evacuation wardens will make sure everyone in their area is aware of the emergency and
direct them to evacuate. They will check the interior rooms, rest rooms, etc, to ensure everyone is
evacuated. Wardens will note who evacuated from their respective areas and provide a list to the
individual in charge (State Safety Officer, Business Manager, or DSD, Support Services).
6. During the tornado warning everyone will remain in the north section of the first floor hallway and
in Rooms 107B and C. Floor wardens will station themselves at the doors at both ends of the
hallway to assure those doors remain closed until notified by the EAT that the tornado warning is
rescinded or the tornado has passed.
7. Room 109 (the First Aid room) will be the command center during the emergency. The chief
warden and Emergency Action Team (EAT) will assemble in the command center. The individual in
charge will make an announcement to all as to when the tornado warning was initiated and how long
it is estimated to last based on NOAA announcements. It is recommended an updated announcement
be made every 5-10 minutes until the warning has ended. There is an emergency bag located in
Room 109, located in a cabinet in the front part of the room.
8. The EAT should use NOAA weather reports as the official source to determine the end of the
tornado warning. Other sources of emergency information from the Internet and Civil Defense alerts
should also be considered, if available. After the EAT has determined the tornado warning has
expired or been rescinded, the individual in charge will announce the tornado warning has ended and
employees will be permitted to return to their duty stations.
9. In the event that the building or surrounding area has been damaged by a tornado, the Continuity
of Operations Plan (COOP) goes into effect and its procedures implemented.
Signed By: Authenticated By:
Donald A. Simpson Sherry Dixon
State Director Secretary
1 Attachment:
1 - Maps (3 pp)
Distribution
Director (740), STE 300, 1120 20th St. NW 1 (w/o atch.)
CF 1 (w/atch.)