It is crucial for students, especially in kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, and high schools, to know how to act during an emergency or disaster, and for the individuals guiding them to be competent. Occupational Health and Safety Lecturer Esad Sadık Demirtaş suggested the establishment of a 'School Disaster and Emergency Management Board' in schools. Demirtaş stated, "Within the board, emergency teams should be designated from among the staff to provide initial intervention in emergencies and prevent larger catastrophes."
Üsküdar University Occupational Health and Safety Lecturer Esad Sadık Demirtaş provided information on the competencies of emergency teams in schools.
Demirtaş stated that due to Turkey's geological, meteorological, and topographical structure, it is frequently exposed to natural disasters. According to AFAD data, this geography confronts Turkey with various disasters and emergencies, including earthquakes, fires, landslides, floods, rockfalls, and avalanches.
Demirtaş noted that the possibility of an earthquake occurring in our country, coupled with the unknown timing, intensity, and duration, means we also do not know where we might be caught by an earthquake, and continued:
“For this reason, we may encounter emergencies and be exposed to natural disasters in homes, workplaces, shopping centers, on roads, in schools, and many other areas. It is particularly important for students in kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, and high schools to know how to act during an emergency or disaster, and for the individuals guiding them to be competent.
Drills should be conducted at regular intervals
Therefore, a ‘School Disaster and Emergency Management Board’ should be established in schools. Within the board, emergency teams should be designated from among the staff to provide initial intervention in emergencies and prevent larger catastrophes.”
Demirtaş also stated that studies on the importance of emergencies and disasters in schools are being carried out in many countries, adding:
“Planned work is carried out through drills at regular intervals in response to potential disasters and emergencies. In our country, the 'Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces' explicitly mandates the preparation of emergency plans in work environments, the necessary work regarding prevention, protection, evacuation, firefighting, first aid, and similar issues, the safe management of these situations, and the designation of teams to be assigned to these matters.
Emergency plans must be prepared and personnel trained
Furthermore, with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation No. 6331, the importance given to Occupational Health and Safety in work environments has been sought to be increased. Occupational Health and Safety programs are being established in universities to train Occupational Safety Specialists to participate in risk assessment and emergency plan preparation efforts in workplaces and institutions, and to analyze hazards and risks to enable employees to carry out their work in a safer environment.
In the work to be done regarding emergencies and disasters in schools, school administrators, in particular, have a significant role. Emergency plan work must be carried out, personnel should be selected on a voluntary basis when assigning teams, and they must have sufficient knowledge in the areas they will be responsible for. Individuals with special conditions, pregnant employees, the elderly, those on long-term leave, and those working in other regions on assignment should not be part of emergency teams.”
Demirtaş, referring to the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings, stated the following:
“In workplaces, for responding to and combating emergencies, in residential buildings with a height exceeding 30.50 m, and in all types of non-residential structures, buildings, facilities, businesses, and sites housing more than 50 people, and in complexes housing more than 200 people, emergency teams consisting of a total of 4 units—extinguishing, rescue, protection, and first aid—must be established.
In business sectors classified as very dangerous, dangerous, and less dangerous, and in these buildings, at least one team member should be designated for every 30, 40, and 50 people respectively, excluding first aid. For first aid, these numbers should be at least one person for every 10, 15, and 20 people respectively. For workplaces with fewer than 10 employees, assigning at least 1 support staff for all extinguishing, rescue, and protection teams is sufficient.
How are emergency teams determined?
Especially when determining emergency teams;
Individuals who are physically and mentally ready and possess the qualifications and skills for the job,
Individuals who have passed health checks, possess extensive training in risk management, or are striving to improve themselves through training,
Individuals who can easily distinguish between risks and hazards within the scope of Occupational Health and Safety,
Individuals who possess effective communication skills with those exposed to an emergency,
Individuals who can provide psychological support to those exposed at the moment of rescue should be preferred.”