ORFA RESOURCES  I  GUIDELINE
Converting a Recreation Centre to an Emergency Rescue Centre (Shelter)

Introduction

Community recreation centres form an integral part of the local fabric. The primary purpose of these buildings will vary based on design and construction. However, most are not designed to house people for long periods of time under any conditions. As community leaders undertake planning exercises specific to community safety, they often select recreation infrastructure based solely on the size of the building and the fact that most community members are familiar with the location.
There is no doubt that recreation facilities can play an important role during a community emergency.
However, proper planning on how the building will or can be used is a critical part of preplanning exercises. This resource is designed to assist emergency management teams in better understanding the complexities and challenges associated with dedicating a community recreation centre as a community rescue shelter. In addition, discussions on what may or may not be available at the facility should be undertaken so that proper planning and preparations can occur.

Community Emergencies

As a result of an emergency a community may require an evacuation as a chosen form of protective action. A hazardous materials incident, flooding, a power outage, explosions, severe building damage, biological incidents, severe weather are examples of the types of emergencies that may require an evacuation to protect lives of residents. To ensure the safety and security of the public and efficient and effective management of resources most community emergency management team utilizes common 1-8 response goals.

1. Provide for the safety and health of all responders
2. Save lives
3. Reduce suffering
4. Protect public health
5. Protect government infrastructure
6. Protect property
7. Protect the environment
8. Reduce economic and social loss

Emergency situations affecting a community may require protective actions to be implemented to ensure the safety and security of citizens. Protective actions are shelter in place, evacuation, public alerting, monitoring, or no action required. It is standard practice that community and local health services complete site assessments on several facilities that could be used as reception and/or evacuation centres. The following factors will often be considered when choosing an appropriate evacuation centre:

Recreation centres seem to naturally fit many of these objectives, but they are not designed for this purpose. Emergency management teams need to appreciate that recreation facilities are designed for a constant turnover of users that are present for short periods of time. Housing people for even short periods can present many operational challenges that this resource will attempt to address.

Sheltering in Place

Sheltering is the process of providing for the basic needs of the affected people away from the immediate or potential effects of a hazard. Sheltering is managed in accordance with the Health Canada Guidelines for Emergency Social Services.

The primary responsibility for managing the social services needs of evacuees often lies with the community and health services when more than 50 evacuees are involved. In situations where 50 or fewer evacuees require care; a community can request assistance from a Canadian Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team.

The following are common activities that occur in a group shelter facility:

1. Registration of evacuees with consideration of tracking all persons registered.
2. Building security.
3. Dormitory/rest areas.
4. Sanitation facilities (washrooms/bathing).
5. Food storage, preparation and service with consideration of persons with food allergies being on site.
6. Cleaning and maintenance.
7. Preventative medicine, public health and first aid.
8. Planning care of evacuees and shelter operations.
9. Supervision of evacuees.
10. Scheduling of activities, volunteers, and staff.
11. Coordination and liaison with on-site agencies and Emergency Management Team.
12. Recreation activities.
13. Communications and information, giving additional consideration for people with special needs.
14. Management of supplies, resources, and records.
15. Veterinary contact information.

Taking Control of a Public Recreation Centre During an Emergency

Emergency planning teams can designate a public recreation facility as a rescue centre. However, they will lack the actual skills to take control of the building’s infrastructure. HVAC systems are most likely automated and will be scheduled to rest during typical seasonal operations. These may need to be overridden which will require access to computerization or conducted manually. Knowing where and how to adjust or reset this equipment manually is essential for evacuee comfort. It is essential that facility managers annually confirm that the and facility selected as part of a community emergency sheltering plan is always prepared to accept evacuees. Building this need and expectation into annual budget requests would be considered diligent facility management.

Involve Facility Management

Often facility management is overlooked as being part of emergency planning activities. Emergency planning teams will learn through this resource of the importance of involving senior facility staff as part of the emergency preplanning and preparation activities. Having an up-to- date contact information is essential.

Designating Facility Operational Staff as Essential Services

Emergency planning teams need to consider the role operational staff will play in keeping the building clean, sanitized, and functional. The level of staff will be based on the estimated evacuee housing needs. Washroom and eating areas will require regular maintenance to ensure disease does not spread. Facility staff will need to get to and from the facility. During extreme weather conditions that force roads to be closed by authorities will have any person traveling on these roadways uninsured in personal vehicles regardless of the intent of their travels. In addition, facility staff may have their own family’s safety to ensure and as such this must be considered as part of the pre-planning activities. Adding these expectations to job descriptions and hiring documents is strongly recommended. Once approved. Facility management must include these responsibilities in annual training programs. Maintaining and sharing up to date facility staff contact information with an outline of skills and key responsibilities should be considered.

Confirmation of Positive Building Management

Emergency management teams must continually confirm that the designated recreation/rescue centre is being properly managed. The ORFA offers a variety of building management and administrative courses that lead to professional certifications.

These professional accreditations help confirm that building managers have a strong foundation in maintaining and operational principles while staying in tune with changes impacting the industry. The following are key areas that can assist emergency planning teams on the level of operational efficiency of the recreation/rescue centre.

Safety Stakeholder Participation

In addition to Red Cross and local health departments evaluating a facilities level of preparation, consider having other local professionals attend the building and assess the condition of the operation. Local fire safety officers and building inspector can provide a detailed evaluation of how the building is positioned in respect to current codes and regulations. Having the Electrical Safety Authority [ESA] confirm electrical is in order is recommended. Insurance providers often offer complimentary risk assessments as part of the insurance coverage relationship that can be tapped into. They also control boiler inspector visitation to ensure all aspects of these important devices are in proper working order.

Noxious and Toxic Gas Inventory

Recreation facilities will often house a variety of noxious and toxic gases as part refrigeration and water sanitization processes. Consider a building that has chlorine gas and liquid ammonia as well as a variety of fuels such as propane, natural gas, gasoline and diesel. Confirming that all chemicals and fuels are being properly stored is essential. Ensuring that facility management are properly storing these elements as well as having properly trained staff to handle, store, transport and dispose of these items should be confirmed.

Have an Emergency Evacuation Plan - B

Emergency planning teams must consider where they would evacuate the rescue centre evacuees should there be a toxic leak, spill or other emergency during the community emergency housing period that would require relocated person to leave.

Accessibility

Not all recreation centres are completely AODA compliant. An evaluation of how accessible the building and the main attributes such as washroom and showers should be conducted. Investment in accessibility for regular users will benefit evacuees.

Lighting

Any area selected as possible dormitory/rest location must have adjustable lighting to assist evacuee comfort while resting. Enough lighting should be available to allow movement to washroom areas during low light situations.

Snow Removal

If part of a municipalities snow management system recreation facilities are often the last public buildings to receive snow removal services. As soon as a facility is identified as being required for a rescue shelter, emergency management officials should activate a snow clearing plan to ensure vehicle traffic can enter, leave, or park the facility with no restrictions. Consideration for persons with mobility issues must be given additional attention. Keeping all egress serviceable throughout the period that the facility is being used is also essential planning.

Waste Management

Single use food and drink items will most likely be used during these types of events making the need to remove or safely store the additional waste that will be generated during a rescue shelter housing event must be considered. Placing garbage bags outside the facility will attract birds and wildlife while storing garbage indoors may be acceptable for short periods. However, having additional garbage containers dropped at the facility would be diligent planning.

Needle Collection

An increase in the possible use of needles and lancets should be planned for.

Dishwashing

Even if single use utensils are to be used there will be some need to clean cooking pots, pans and stirring utensils. These need to be properly cleaned and sanitized. Facility management must ensure that either a commercial dishwasher is available with adequate sanitizer, or three sinks as required by Public Health regulations.

Pet/Animal Housing

People being invited to a rescue centre will want to bring along family pets. Emergency plans often advise pet and livestock owners to develop their own emergency plans. Facility staff must be prepared for evacuees that arrive with single or multiple animals. Traditional dogs and cats can be joined by exotic pets such as but not limited to snakes, rats, and spiders. Housing these animals away from people who may have a fear or reaction to pets needs a plan to deal with such challenges.

The Provincial Government has the authority under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, Section 7.0.2(4)-3 to issue an order for the evacuation of domestic animals. There are no provisions under the Act that compels the municipality to provide care for evacuated animals. However, support animals may require a different approach. Evacuees may not arrive with the required paperwork to support their claim of the animal being a recognized support animal. And those allowed into the shelter may create problems with others who were not permitted to bring their pets into the shelter.

Facility Public Address Systems

Is the facilities public address system adequate? This equipment must be designed and maintained so that all areas within the facility can clearly hear messages. Some systems are complicated to activate. Is there a back-up portable, battery operated system on site? Facility staff should be engaged to confirm how the system is designed to be used.

Facility Electrical and Wi-Fi

Having adequate electrical outlets to meet the recharging demands of today’s technology requires confirmation. In addition, access to large user loads of wi-fi demand should be expected and addressed as part of preplanning activities.

Cannabis Use

A decision as to how and where medical or recreational cannabis can be used beyond the facilities current policies.

Alcohol and Tobacco Use

Clear direction must be given regarding the use of alcohol or being impaired in the shelter. While consideration to amending the communities smoking/vaping policies should form part of the planning and preparation activities.

Personal Refrigeration Needs

Some people may require refrigeration space for medical or specialty food items. Having secure space available for these special needs must be considered.

Odour Free Facilities

Consider evaluating how active the building is as it relates to strong odours from personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies to ensure consideration of impact on evacuees is controlled.

Peanut Free Facilities

Many facilities are peanut free however, evacuees may accidentally bring products with peanuts on site. Is there a need to have epinephrine auto-injector as part of the facilities First Aid response tools?

Naloxone Response Tools

Does that facility have naloxone response equipment on site? If not, is there a need to prepare for such an event?

Facility Security

Can the facility be locked down to control movement by people using the location as a rescue centre? Boredom and curiosity will have people move around uncontrolled if not secured.

Staffing Area

Consideration of the need and benefits of having a separate location for facility staff to gather and rest should be discussed. Tracking staff is an important part of the planning process. Signing in and out should be implemented.

Programming Expectations

Often facility staff are not adequately staffed or prepared to entertain or program the building to offer traditional recreational activities. The offering of recreation services needs clear direction of expectation so that the building can be properly prepared. It is important to note that an evacuation situation does not reduce the facilities responsibility under the Occupiers Liability Act to provide a safe environment. On-site equipment must be secured so that unauthorized access is avoided.

Warehousing of Disaster Victims

On several occasions ice arenas have been used as refrigerated warehouses for victims of an emergency event. This type of use should be avoided whenever possible as the stigma of using a community building as a temporary mortuary will have a lasting negative impact.

Back-up Power Plant Maintenance

Is the building’s back-up power plant being properly serviced and maintained? Is fuel being monitored and properly maintained? Is there a proven system in place to ensure the equipment will function properly when required? Is there a back-up plan in place for service professionals to quickly respond if required during an emergency?

Hot Water Supply

Recreation facilities operate on a revolving schedule of users that allows for hot water systems to recharge between use. Many are not designed to supply an endless amount of heated water should there be a high demand due to mass housing of evacuated persons. In addition, aged equipment may further reduce the capability of the water heating systems. Emergency planning teams should regularly evaluate the capability of these systems.

Paper Products

If there is an expectation by the emergency planning team that the facility will always be stocked with items such as toilet paper and hand towels, it needs to be identified so that facility management are prepared.

Toxic Fumes Sensing Equipment Maintenance

Confirm that all facility sensing devices are being properly maintained and calibrated. These can include, but not limited to CO2, ammonia, or chlorine monitoring devices.

Food Preparation Areas

Keeping these areas up to date and serviceable through proper lifecycle planning should form part of the community and facilities preparation plans. Health inspectors should be invited to evaluate how well designed these areas are to meet the expectations of a potential rescue centre.

Washer and Dryer

Does the facility have a washer and dryer on site that the persons being housed can access if required? If so, is there a need to create an access schedule for use?

Plumbing Fixtures

Facility plumbing fixtures and piping systems must be properly serviced as the added stress of significant load of 24-hour operations on the system will have older buildings quickly fail. A plumbing failure response plan should be in place.

Mould and Asbestos Management

Has the building been evaluated for asbestos and are all areas identified as potential asbestos areas properly marked? Does the building have a mould identification and management plan in place?

Air Intake Control

It is important that no vehicles be left idling near the buildings’ air intake areas. They should be properly marked as no idling zones to ensure CO2 does not enter the building from vehicles.

Dealing with Forest Fire Smoke at an Evacuation Centre with Smoke Eaters

Recent provincial fires have created an additional facility matter that building management may need to consider when designing an evacuation centre. Smoke from recent wildfires in Alberta stretched across the country, creating hazy skies in several provinces. A real-time tracking map created by AirNow Fire and Smoke Map (airnow.gov), which monitors wildfires and air quality in North America, shows the extent of the reach of smoke from these blazes. Evacuation centres set up to assist during the emergency were at a safe distance but were still under the threat of smoke-related health issues. Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of gases, particles, and water vapour that contains: ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitroge dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These pollutants can harm your health, with PM2.5 posing the greatest risk.
There is no evidence of a safe level of exposure for most of these pollutants. This means that smoke can impact health even at very low levels. Air quality may be decreased even if evacuees cannot see or smell smoke. Management at some Alberta evacuation centres scrambled to source industrial “smoke eater” equipment. A smoke eater is a device that removes smoke and odours from a room.

Types of Smoke Eater Technologies

• Electronic: An electronic smoke remover commonly uses electrical charges such as negative ionization to remove odors. They commonly produce ozone as a by-product and the ozone is what neutralizes the unwanted odors.
• Electrostatic: In an electrostatic system there are positively and negatively charged metal plates that collect the smoke particles. Ozone can be produced to remove the odors. This type is sometimes called an electronic air cleaner.
• Activated Carbon: Carbon once activated acts like a sponge to absorb gases, smoke, and VOCs. Carbon by itself is not effective for all gases such as formaldehyde, however it is a safe, ozone free method for the removal of most gases.
• Ozone Generator: Pumps out volumes of ozone to quickly wipe out any odour. Ozone is very effective however it is dangerous for human lungs. Think of it like fumigating a room for bugs, very effective but not meant to be breathed in while it is in operation.

Smoke Eater Equipment Options

• Commercial Smoke Eaters: A commercial smoke eater is often installed in the ceiling. The air flow rates tend to be much higher than home units. Considerations for a commercial unit in new construction can be given.
• Portable Smoke Eaters: A portable smoke eater is a smaller device that can be brought in as required to assist in removing smoke odour in a building.

Recreation facilities are often key to a community’s evacuation plan. Proactive facility managers will be prepared to table information that includes smoke- related health issues that should be considered as part of the facilities preparedness plans. Recommending that this type of equipment be installed at the time of construction can be made. Alternatively, knowing where rental equipment can be sourced should form part of the emergency planning documents,

Fire Management

Does the building keep detailed fire equipment logs, plans and practice regular evacuation drills? Does staff know how to shelter in place in lieu of evacuation pending the type of risk? Is there a need to have a dedicated fire safety officer on site during the housing period?

WHMIS, AED’s and First Aid

How current is staff in WHMIS, AED and First |Aid training? Are First Aid kits and AED equipment being regularly inspected? Access to Safety Data Sheets by on- site emergency team members should be considered in case an evacuee accidentally meets any chemical.

Policy, Procedures and Checklists

Confirm that the facility has up to date policy and procedures and that there are checklists and/or logbooks being used to assist in directing daily operations? The ORFA offers a variety of tools as a benefit of membership in the resource section of the web site.

Lifecycle Plans

Is there an active lifecycle planning system in place to ensure that the building is receiving adequate capital investment to maintain safe operations? The ORFA offers a no cost industry leading Recreation Facility Asset Management software program that can assist in this objective.

Practice a Facility Set-Up

Facility management should request that the emergency management team conduct a practice set-up to confirm that the building and staff are in fact adequately prepared for an actual emergency event. Consider the benefit of having precut measurement tools to quickly tape off required personal space per evacuee. Perhaps even drawings of what the layout should look like will make it easier in a pressure and stressful time. Having to measure out each area for a cot can be very time consuming.

Closing the Shelter

Whether the facility can no longer support the shelter activity due to depletion of supplies (suppliers may also be unavailable to deliver), sanitary conditions declining, or any of the other issues listed earlier in the document needs pre- discussion by emergency planning committee members. Be prepared that once the emergency is declared to be over that people will not necessarily want to automatically leave. Their homes may not have power or other services restored. Some of learned to enjoy the company they have been sharing.

Post Event

Consider the challenges created by a post emergency plan- who is cleaning up, is there a budget to repair and replace damaged playing surfaces for example to make the facility safe for use again i.e., gym floor with cots and animals, can be ruined, when is it expected to re-open and provide the services it was originally intended for. PTSD or other issues for the staff that dealt with the emergency that they were never trained for, who will be at work if they have spent the last week responding to the emergency?

New Construction

Communities must include the potential use of a recreation facility as a community shelter and invest accordingly. Making these decisions early in the design and construction phase will result in significant savings.

Conclusion

Hurricane Katrina proved that people cannot be housed in a recreation facility for any period without proper planning and preparation. Community recreation facilities can help play an important role in emergency management but switching from recreation centre to rescue centre should not be considered a seamless process. Properly trained facility staff are the most informed people regarding the building’s capabilities and limitations. Be sure to tap into these professionals. Requiring building management to confirm with community emergency management officials to no less than annually confirm that the items outlined in this document as well as other site-specific tasks and responsibilities have been considered or have been undertaken would be diligent.

Remember that staff regularly change facilities at all levels and that checks and balance of levels of preparations and understanding of roles and responsibilities are essential emergency planning tools.