Disasters: What We Plan For….
John F Bradfield, DVM, PhD, DACLAM
Senior Director, AAALAC International
Disaster Planning – new?
 1965 Edition – Section H –
Emergencies
“Provision should be made for emergency care, day
or night. Standard operating procedures for
emergencies must be listed. These should include
such items as(a) Name of responsible person or alternate
(b) Means of contacting responsible person or
alternate”
Disaster Planning – new?
 1972 Edition – Section I.D –
Provisions for emergency care
“Provision must be made for the emergency
care of animals….. The objective must be to
assure that animals will be cared for should an
emergency arise.”
Disaster Planning – new?
 1978 Edition – Section C.4 – Provisions
for emergency, weekend and holiday care
“Provision must be made for the emergency care of
animals. Institutional security personnel and fire or
police officials should know how to reach a person
responsible for the animals. This can be
accomplished by prominently posting the names of
such responsible persons in the animal facilities, or
listing them with the institution’s central telephone
center or security department. The objective is to
ensure that animals will be cared for in case of
emergencies.
Disaster Planning – new?
 1985 Edition – Emergency, weekend and
holiday care
“In the event of an emergency, institutional security
personnel and fire or police officials should be able
to contact those people responsible for the animals.
This can be accomplished by prominently posting
names and phone numbers in the animal facilities, or
by listing them with the security department or
telephone center.
Disaster Planning – new?
 1996 Edition – Emergency, weekend
and holiday care
“…In the event of an emergency, institutional security personnel
and fire or police officials should be able to reach people
responsible for the animals…...
A disaster plan that takes into account both personnel and
animals should be prepared as part of the overall safety plan
for the animal facility. The colony manger or veterinarian
responsible for the animals should be a member of the
appropriate safety committee at the institution. He or she
should be an “official responder” within the institution and
should participate in the response to a disaster….”
2011 Guide - Chapter 2: page 35
 Disaster plan
“Facilities must therefore have a disaster
plan.”
“The plan should define the actions necessary
to prevent animal pain, distress, and deaths
due to loss of systems such as those that
control ventilation, cooling, heating, or
provision of potable water.”
2011 Guide - Chapter 2: page 35
Disaster plan - other key aspects
 Developed with PI’s
 If animals cannot be relocated or protected –
humane euthanasia
 ID essential personnel with advanced training
 Personnel safety and access
 Plans should be part of overall institutional plan
coordinated by the IO
 Plan should be integrated into broader, area-wide
planning (local law enforcement and emergency
personnel)
Trend Analysis – reports of
disasters
 From 2009 – April 2014
 Reports of any “disaster” that was judged
to be “significant”
 Tabulate results
 Any trends emerge as common
challenges?
Findings
 Total of 74 reports (since 2009)
 Categories of findings:










Earthquake
Flood
Hurricane
Terrorism
Fire
Power outage
Tornado
Other weather
Physical Plant
Other
# Reported Events - Category
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Earthquake
Flood
Hurricane Terrorism
Fire
Power
Outage
Tornado
Other
Weather
Other
# Reports - Category
60
53
50
40
30
20
10
6
4
1
1
Earthquake
Flood
1
3
1
2
2
Tornado
Other
Weather
Other
0
Hurricane Terrorism
Fire
Power
Outage
Physical
Plant
Findings
 Physical Plant – sub categories






HVAC
Steam
Water
Malfunction/breakage
Accident
Transport
# Reports – Physical Plant
25
78%
20
15
10
5
0
Equipment
Malfunction
HVAC
Steam
Water
Accident
Transport
Examples of Physical Plant
Disasters
System/equipment malfunction
Steam control – overheating
Water – failures in drinking water system
Building flood – burst water main
Aquatic species – catastrophic equipment
failure (overheated water, water valve failure,
etc., tanks ruptured)
 Failed heating systems for neonates




Examples of Physical Plant
Disasters
HVAC System Failure
 Temperature excursions - predominately
a problem with overheating
 Last Winter – some incidents of
hypothermia (failure of heating systems)
Reports by sector
80
70
60
50
% 40
30
20
10
0
Academic
Commercial
Government
Non Profit
Hospital
Site Visit Findings Since Fall 2011
Program Components
Animal Environment
OHS
10%
10%
14%
18%
26%
IACUC
Veterinary Care
22%
Instiutional
Adminsitration
Physical Plant
Site Visit Findings
Since Fall-2011
Institutional Administration – All findings
Since 2009….
• ~ 6% of disaster plans were deficient
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Institution type – deficiencies
related to the disaster plan
70
60
50
40
%
30
20
10
0
Academic
Commercial
Government
Nonprofit
Hospital
Common Disaster Plan-related
Deficiencies
 Institutional plan did not include the animal
program
 Insufficient contingencies for animal care
 Not all animals were considered in the disaster
plan (remote sites and satellite facilities)
 Basic contingencies for animal care and
euthanasia were not considered
 Lack of consideration for essential personnel and
their training
 Insufficient detail
Site Visit Findings – Physical Plant
Since Fall-2011
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
HVAC
Construction/
maintenance
Special facilites
Power
Design/ layout
Site Visit Findings - HVAC
Since Fall-2011
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
HVAC Report
Environmental
Monitoring
T/H Control
Air Pressure
Differential
Ventialtion
Trend Analysis
 The largest category of disasters reported
is “institutional disasters” (72%)
 System/equipment & HVAC malfunctions
occur most frequently (78%)
 Of “regional disasters” – power outages and
hurricanes are most frequent (14% combined)
Trend Analysis cont’d
 The most frequently reported disasters
occurred without warning (response time?)
 6% of existing disaster plans were
deficient (site visits)
 Physical plant disasters are most
common and HVAC deficiencies are
among the most common issues cited on
site visits……..
Thank You!
AAALAC International
www.aaalac.org
accredit@aaalac.org
301-696-9626
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