How to Report Critical and After-hours Incidents

After a two-year hiatus, PDRMA members are offering patrons a full array of activities and programs, which is great! But after such a long lapse, training — or retraining — staff is especially important, as procedures and policies may have become a bit fuzzy. Especially important is ensuring your employees know when and how to report a critical and/or after-hours incident.

More Activities Equal Greater Risk

“Gearing up for summer means more people, more driving, more equipment usage, and sadly, more chances for injury to staff and participants as well as damage to property,” notes Tim Lenac, PDRMA Risk Management Services Supervisor. “That two-year break means people’s skills probably also got rusty, but their belief in how well they can perform their job tasks likely didn’t.”

Often, the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “critical incident” is a drowning or near drowning. Such events are devastating to everyone involved, and PDRMA needs to know about them immediately. That way, we can provide the prompt legal and risk management assistance and resources your agency and employees need.

Seconds Count

Regardless of when you experience a critical or after-hours event, call PDRMA as soon as possible (if not sooner!) at 630.769.0332. “Do not call your Risk Management Consultant or another PDRMA employee to report an incident,” emphasizes Lenac. “If you leave a message about such an event on someone’s voicemail, it could sit there overnight or for an entire weekend.”

If you call after PDRMA office hours, follow the automated prompts to report your incident. A third-party service will ensure our on-call PDRMA staff member gets back to you. “We’ll quickly assess the situation and coordinate a response,” he says.

What Is a Critical Incident?

Our definition of a critical incident includes more than one type of event. It applies not only to a severe employee or patron injury or fatality but also to a major property loss at an agency, a cyber incident or request for ransom and environmental property damage such as a chemical spill or leak.

Remind your employees about appropriate procedures if/when your agency experiences a critical or after-hours incident and partner with PDRMA immediately to receive the resources and support your agency, employees and patrons need.

PDRMA Resources

Accident and Incident Reporting Staff Training Video — Teach employees about what they need to know to report incidents/accidents effectively to their supervisor.

Legal Considerations for Serious Incidents (1507) — This document provides immediate legal direction following a serious accident/incident at your agency.

Crisis Management Sample Plan (472) — This sample plan explains the chain of responsibility, media relations and includes a sample press release, a post-crisis evaluation and other resources to help your agency better manage a crisis.