Tornado Emergencies Procedures

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:
1112 (950) P
October 6, 2014
EMS TRANSMISSION: 10/7/2014
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2015-001
Expires: 9/30/2015
To: All State Office Employees
From: Associate 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.

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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 fire/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, Records Manager, 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 containing first aid items, bandages, splints, etc. located in
Room 109, 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:
Mary Jo Rugwell
Associate State Director
Authenticated by:
Sherry Dixon
Support Services Assistant
1 Attachment:
1 - Maps (3 pp)
Distribution
Director (740), 20 M Street, S.E.
CF
1 (w/o atch.)
1 (w/atch.)