Planning for disasters
A South Korean madman supplied a grim reminder that the simplest of tools can be used to promulgate mass destruction. At least 125 people died Tuesday when a man with a history of mental illness decided to kill himself and take others with him. Carrying a carton of flammable liquid, he boarded a subway and lit it. Within minutes a second train – that wasn’t warned of the fire – pulled into the station. Its passengers never had a chance. With a suspect in hand, South Korean investigators are turning their attention to all that went wrong in failing to warn the second train and in allowing passengers to flee. Reforms – installing emergency lighting, increasing the number of exit signs, raising security levels and making car interiors flame resistant – are promised.
The South Korean subway inferno follows within a day the mass deaths of patrons at a Chicago nightclub who were trapped and trampled during a stampede.
Both serve a sobering message to the public and private sectors to review evacuation procedures. Last week after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the nation’s level of terrorism alert a notch, Americans were advised to buy duct tape and plastic sheeting in order to create safe, sealed rooms should bio or chemical warfare be unleashed. Skeptics, and you can count us among them, doubt this would do little to keep you or your families safe for very long.
Not to belittle or to discount the ability of terrorists to attack, but the probability is far greater for other more common tragedies, including fires. Those who manage buildings where the public gathers have a moral, ethical and legal duty to make sure their buildings can be evacuated quickly and safely. And the government has an obligation to periodically inspect to make sure.
Individuals, too, can invest a small amount of time and money to protect their families. A smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector can be had for just slightly more cash outlay than tape and plastic. Both have been proven lifesavers time and time again. Of equal importance is having a home evacuation plan – with several ways out – that is periodically rehearsed. When tragedy strikes there is precious little time to think before acting. A Searights Village mother on Tuesday discovered how quickly fire can take a home. She and her children escaped with moments to spare when a suspected electrical fire ripped through their home. The family is homeless but alive. Too many times we have reported the unwelcome news that a family was trapped and perished.
Planning with an eye toward evacuation can save lives.