MOUNT VERNON — Ohio is in the midst of Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the state will test its emergency alert system this morning. Schools and businesses are encouraged to participate by practicing emergency plans and drills as well.
Knowing what to do when severe weather or an emergency strikes is key, whether it be at home or in the workplace. In the workplace, not only do employees need to know what to do, but, in many instances, staff members need to know how to take care of their customers.
Perry Trinkner, a co-owner of Colonial City Lanes, said his business has no plans in place if severe weather should threaten. He said all of the exits are clearly indicated in the building, but said the business has not been told by the fire department to have plans in place for severe weather. He agreed having such plans would be a good idea. In the case of severe weather, Trinkner did say the weather sirens can be heard from inside his business, to warn customers and employees of approaching severe weather.
Lexie Morr, owner of Williams Flower Shop, also does not have any plans in case of severe weather in the area. However, she also said she thought the severe weather sirens could be heard from her shop on South Main Street, and that the shop has a dry basement where she and her employees can take shelter if inclement weather should strike. Williams Flower Shop has 10 employees, according to Morr.
Rolls-Royce Energy Systems, which has approximately 850 employees in Mount Vernon, will participate in the statewide drill.
“We are participating in that drill,” said David McCall, health and safety manager for Rolls-Royce. According to McCall, all employees were notified of the drill last week, and the company will practice its emergency plan during the drill. McCall said the company appreciates the designation of Severe Weather Awareness Week because it gives the company a chance to practice safety drills.
McCall said Rolls-Royce developed its emergency plans after considering what emergencies were the most realistic, then taking appropriate planning measures. He said it was a matter of “what can we foresee that would come about.”
“We have posted shelter areas for each department,” said McCall.
According to McCall, announcements to take shelter or evacuate reach employees over the public-address system or through supervisors, most of whom carry radios for communication. McCall noted there have been several incidents in the past few years in which the tornado warning sirens sounded and employees at Rolls-Royce took shelter. The most recent incident he could recall was last fall when a tornado was in the Danville area.
The Jeld-Wen windows division in Mount Vernon also has plans in place if severe weather should strike. However, the company is not able to participate in the drill because of current high production levels. Mark Stauffer, reliability manager at Jeld-Wen, said the company plans to have an emergency weather drill at some point this year.
“We have quite a number of meeting areas,” said Stauffer, referring to places that were safe from tornadoes where employees are to gather. These shelter areas have no windows facing outside. Stauffer also noted that the windows in the cafeteria were made of safety glass.
Stauffer said that because of noise levels in the plant, certain areas require hearing protection, making it very unlikely that employees in these areas would hear warning sirens if they sounded. When an emergency arises, therefore, managers meet with their employees in designated meeting areas, which could be inside or outside, depending on the emergency. The groups then communicate with each other to account for any employees who might be unaccounted for.
Stauffer said the company has detailed emergency plans for various types of situations, not just severe weather. Jeld-Wen has 227 employees in Mount Vernon.
