Author Name -04 July 2022

Would your staff know how to respond to an emergency – like a fire – in the workplace? Are they up to speed with workplace safety regulations? If you’re unsure, chances are you need an emergency response preparedness intervention.

Emergency response preparedness refers to your organisation’s ability to prepare for and effectively respond to a workplace emergency. This can be any event that endangers employees, customers or the public, or that risks damaging and disrupting workplace operations, for example, fires, explosions, earthquakes, hazardous-material spills, crime, terrorism, severe weather and medical emergencies.

Not being compliant with emergency preparedness regulations (including fire and rescue response preparedness), can have serious implications for your business – not least of which is the potential for employee injury and death.

Emergency preparedness saves lives, but equipping your organisation to keep your workforce safe and becoming compliant with fire and rescue and emergency response legislation is no small task – this is definitely one best left to the experts.

Getting help with emergency preparedness

Life Health Solutions provides fire and rescue consultancy and emergency preparedness services as part of our integrated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) offering. Backed by Life Healthcare – a global hospital group – Life EMS has been providing health services to organisations across a range of industries for 30 years.

As part of your emergency response planning, our experts will assess your workplace environment and work with you to develop an Emergency Response Management Plan (ERMP) that’s compliant with legislation.

Our services include:

• Assessments and inspections: We carry out above- and below-ground safety audits of your worksite that help us determine your level of safety and emergency preparedness, and make recommendations based on our findings. We inspect building structures, fire hydrants, fire detection alarms and water reticulation systems, as well as firefighting equipment.
• Emergency response planning and compliance: We begin by assessing your worksite’s emergency preparedness according to your type of risk. Then we assess your level of compliance with legislative emergency preparedness requirements, and evaluate the availability and capability of emergency medical services and facilities within your geographic region. Using this information, we create an ERMP tailored to your environment.
• Accredited firefighting training: Together with our partners, we provide training and refresher courses in fire and rescue (level 1 and 2), fire investigation and incident command, basic petrochemical firefighting, wilderness firefighting, advanced petrochemical firefighting, search and rescue and hazmat awareness, among others.

To find out about Life Health Solutions integrated well-being services and our Employee Wellness Programme, get in touch on ewp@lifehealthcare.co.za or 011 219 0000.