Developing plans and training personnel for any emergency.

Homeland Safety Inc. is providing training programs and other resources to help building owners develop plans and train personnel to comply with the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) requirements implemented by the New York City Fire Department in April of 2006.

The EAP, formulated in response to terrorism concerns evoked by 9/11, offers rules that apply to nearly all office buildings greater than six stories or 75 feet in height.

Homeland Safety's core team of safety and emergency preparedness specialists has developed plans and trained emergency personnel for some of the largest property owners and managers in New York City as well as for single building owners, landmark buildings and buildings with unique uses, such as animal hospitals and design centers.

Many Homeland Safety EAPs, created since the implementation of the requirements, have already been approved by the Fire Department. The company has trained over 100 fire safety (FS) and EAP directors through its FDNY-approved training school, and is currently training building occupants on EAP procedures and conducting drills.

EAPs are detailed documents that must display completeness, accuracy and consistency. Any omissions and/ or errors are corrected until the EAP is accepted by FDNY. The Emergency Action Plan must:

* Address what to do in case of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, explosions and natural or manmade events.

* Include provisions for full and partial evacuations, sheltering in place and inbuilding relocation--places for people to move to within the building. The capacity of each location must be pre-determined and the space available for all building occupants must be detailed.

* Prepare Computer Assisted Design (CAD) Drawings for each floor--above and below grade--depicting, among other things, the inbuilding relocation areas.

* Prove that coverage is in place at all times. Qualified personnel must be on the premises whenever the building is open for business. During normal business hours the FS/EAP director or deputy director(s) must be onsite; during off hours, when the building is open, an evacuation supervisor must be onsite.

* Identify the building's wardens, deputy wardens, evacuation supervisors and an EAP brigade. The primary and secondary means of communication among the EAP staff has to be included.

In addition, owners must:

* Train the building's fire safety directors (FSD) and their deputies through an approved school, after which they must earn an EAP Certificate of Fitness certifying them as FS/ EAP directors and deputies.

* Conduct drills at regular intervals--two during the first year after the plan is accepted and one drill per year thereafter.

* Train wardens, deputies, evacuation supervisors and the brigade in building specific EAP procedures.

All buildings were required to comply by December 31 of last year. However, many buildings have not yet filed plans.

As violations will be issued to noncompliant properties, owners/managers that have not had plans filed on their behalf should initiate that process immediately.