Emergency and Animal Evacuation Plan

Purpose. This plan sets out how each Riverbend site responds to fire, flood, extreme heat, chemical spill and other emergencies, including the safe evacuation or shelter-in-place of animals.

1.Scope and emergency types

This plan covers the shelter, the clinic and the boarding centre. It addresses building fire, bushfire and grassfire, riverine flooding, extreme heat, chemical spill, power failure, medical emergency and threatening behaviour by a member of the public. Each site holds a laminated site-specific version at reception and in each animal block.

2.Roles

Each site has a chief warden and deputy who are named on the site notice board. In an emergency the chief warden takes control until emergency services arrive. Animal block leaders are responsible for the animals in their block. The Operations Manager is the emergency coordinator across sites.

• Chief warden: decides evacuate or shelter in place
• Block leaders: account for animals and workers in their block
• First aiders: treat injured people
• Reception: calls emergency services and manages visitors

3.People first

Human life takes priority over animal evacuation. Workers must not re-enter a burning or flooding building to retrieve animals. Where time and safety allow, animals will be evacuated in the order set out in each block's evacuation list, starting with the animals closest to the exit.

4.Animal evacuation

Each block keeps carriers, slip leads and an evacuation list showing every enclosure, the animal identifier and any handling flag. Animals are moved to the assembly area in the exercise yards or, if directed by the chief warden, loaded into the animal transport vans and moved to the pre-arranged partner facility. Block leaders tick off each animal on the list and report to the chief warden.

5.Extreme heat and bushfire days

On days of extreme fire danger the Operations Manager will decide by 7:00 am whether to reduce operations, cancel adoption events and prepare vehicles for evacuation. Kennels must have shade and water checked hourly above 35 degrees, and cooling mats and fans deployed for at-risk animals.

6.Chemical spill

Small spills of cleaning chemicals must be contained with the spill kit by a trained worker wearing the personal protective equipment on the safety data sheet. Larger spills or any spill in a confined area require evacuation of the area and a call to emergency services.

7.Testing and review

Each site will hold an evacuation drill twice a year, once including animal evacuation. Drills and real events will be debriefed and recorded, and the plan will be updated with lessons learnt.