Civil emergencies - emergency planning
You can cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working with families, friends and neighbours
In the event of a major incident it may be necessary to evacuate all or part of Croydon town centre.
How will I know that an evacuation is required?
- Messages will be broadcast on the pager alert scheme.
- CRAC (Croydon Radio Against Crime) used by retailers and pubs/clubs to circulate information on crime, can also be used.
- Police will use public address systems.
- Police officers will manually evacuate the area using building representatives or security staff to assist them.
What should I do if an evacuation of my sector is required?
- Implement your building evacuation plan immediately.
- Inform others who do not appear to be responding to the evacuation request.
- Use security staff or nominated company representatives to escort everyone from danger.
- Follow police advice.
How can I prepare?
Prepare and test an evacuation plan for your building and consider:
- An appropriate location outside the town centre for staff to attend when evacuated?
- How your staff and visitors will be alerted to evacuate to this location?
- How you will ensure that all your staff will get to the chosen evacuation site?
- How you will ensure that you can account for arrival of all your staff at the evacuation site?
- How you will communicate with them when they get there?
- How you will ensure that all staff are aware of the plan?
- Regular testing of the evacuation plan!
The pager alert scheme
Pagers will be used to broadcast a requirement to evacuate. The message will be issued by the police and will include:
- The problem and which sector it is in.
- Sectors to be evacuated.
- Direction of evacuation.
- Updates on the situation.
- When it is safe to return to a particular sector.
The use of the pagers and maps will achieve an efficient evacuation, only affecting the sectors endangered by the incident.
The unit operates as a conventional pager with multiple numbers. It provides numbers known only to the police for emergency priority use, important, non-urgent and information supply, such as serious transport problems. In addition it offers a separate number for holders to issue for personal use. The pager tone indicates the type message received. The pager can replace one or all of your existing pagers.
The system is part of a major existing communication scheme, already being operated in the City of London, and now being extended to the rest of London. Provision is made for incidents affecting central London to be passed to the Croydon Pager Alert Scheme. In addition the service will enable users to broadcast evacuation details and updates to all or key staff via SMS Text messaging direct to their mobile handsets. This service is supported by a 24-hour bureau facility, which will allow multiple messages to be sent instantaneously.
A major disaster can come in many guises and may affect Croydon Town Centre at any time. It is essential that we plan ahead and minimise the risks to the people and businesses that make up the heart of the town centre.
Information on the scheme and how to obtain a pager is available from The City of London and Metropolitan Police Priority Alert System.
Contact Details
- Contact name
- City of London and Metropolitan Police Priority Alert System
- Telephone
- 0870 727 2709
- Website
- www.pageralert.co.uk
- Contact name
- Anna Bastow
- Job title
- Emergency Planning Officer
- Telephone
- 020 8760 5678
- Fax
- 020 8760 5619
- anna.bastow@croydon.gov.uk
