Other Emergencies

Bomb Threat:

Basic Tenant Responsibilities

Each tenant should brief the telephone receptionist on bomb threat procedures.
Each tenant should have a copy of the bomb threat checklist near the receptionist’s telephone. (See checklist)

Bomb Threat Emergency Procedures

Receiving telephone threats

When a bomb threat is received by telephone, immediately ask the caller the questions listed on the bomb threat checklist. This information will be extremely helpful to the police.
After the caller has hung up, immediately fill out the remaining portion of the bomb threat checklist. This information will be extremely helpful to the police.
Notify the Management Office that you have received a bomb threat. They will contact the police.
Do not make statements to newspapers, radio, or television news. Leave that to the police.
Receiving written threats
1. Written threats are less frequent than telephone threats but must be considered just as carefully.
2. Avoid physically handling the written threat. This evidence will be analyzed by the Police Department for fingerprints, postmarks, handwriting and typewriting. Isolate (letter) and insulate (move yourself and others to safety).
3. Notify the Management Office that you have received a bomb threat. They will contact the police.
4. Searching Procedures
  1. It will be the responsibility of each tenant to decide if their employees are to search areas such as coatrooms, conference rooms, computer rooms and work- stations. The Building Management staff will be responsible for searching the following areas:

Public Restrooms
Elevators
Telephone Equipment Rooms
Entrances and Lobbies
Fire Extinguisher Cabinets
Planters
Transformer Vaults
Boiler and Chiller Rooms
Exterior of the Building
Shrubbery
Stairways
Trash Storage Areas
Janitor Closets
Parking Garage

If a suspected device is found, DO NOT TOUCH IT.

Contact the Management Office and clear the immediate area. Guard the area, keeping people away, until a Police Officer checks the device.

If the Police Officer believes the suspected device to be a bomb, his/her authority immediately exceeds that of the tenant or landlord and his/her instructions are to be followed.

d.Two-way radios should never be utilized in the area of suspected device.

Evacuation

Evacuation of the building is a decision to be made by each tenant or Police and Fire Department officials only. Building Management will not make the decision to evacuate the building.

In the event the decision to evacuate is made, the fastest route to safety will be the stairwells or direct exits to the outside. Do not use or rely on elevators for evacuation. ALL persons shall leave the area immediately. Do not gather valuables, personal or business items.
Contact the Building Management office and inform them of the decision to evacuate. Building Management will inform the Police and/or Fire Department of that decision.

Bomb Threat Checklist

Date: _____________________________________________________

Name of Company: _________________________________________

Name and position of person taking call: __________________________________________________________

Telephone number call came in on: ______________________________________

FILL OUT COMPLETELY IMMEDIATELY AFTER BOMB THREAT

1. When is the bomb set to explode? _______________________________________

2. Where is the bomb located? ____________________________________________

3. What does the bomb look like? _________________________________________

4. What type of bomb is it? _______________________________________________

5. What will cause the bomb to explode? ____________________________________

6. Did the caller place the bomb? ______________________________________

7. Why did the caller place the bomb? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is the caller’s name and address? _____________________________________________________________

9. Caller’s: Sex _____Age _____ Race ________ Length of Call _______

DESCRIPTION OF CALLER’S VOICE: (Check all that apply)

____ Calm ____ Laughing ____ Lisp ____ Disguised

____ Angry ____ Crying ____ Raspy ____ Accent

____ Excited ____ Normal ____ Deep ____ Familiar

____ Slow ____ Distinct ____ Ragged ____ Loud

____ Slurred ____ Rapid ____ Nasal ____ Soft

____ Stutter ____ Clearing throat ____ Deep breathing

If voice is familiar, whom did it sound like? ___________________________________________________________

BACKGROUND SOUNDS:

____ Street Noises ____ House Noises ____ Factory ____ Local Call

____ Crockery ____ Motor ____ Machinery ___ Long Distance

____ Voices ____ Office ____ Animal noises ____ Phone booth

____ PA System ____ Clear ____ Music ____ Static _____ Other

THREAT LANGUAGE/ACCENT: __________________________________

____ Well-spoken ____ Foul ____ Incoherent ____ Irrational

____ Taped ____ Message read by Threat Maker

REMARKS:

POWER FAILURE

In the event of a power failure:

Contact the Tamarac Plaza Management Office. If possible, inform them if the power failure is confined to your suite, the entire building, or the whole neighborhood. The Tamarac Plaza Management Office will investigate the cause of the outage.
Call Xcel for electrical outages 1-800-895-1999
Specific light fixtures in tenant suites, common area hallways, bathrooms and stairwells supply emergency lighting. They are designed to turn on immediately when power is interrupted.
You must exit the building via the stairwells, as the elevators will not operate.

UPS/BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM RULES AND REGULATIONS

General Guidelines

Tenant shall operate all equipment that is specified as "Stored Electrical and Standby Power Systems" in a safe and reasonable manner and follow manufacturer's operating, replacement, and maintenance instructions. Systems covered in this policy are used for standby power, emergency power, or uninterruptible power supplies ("UPS") and may include different type of batteries (including individual systems for stand-alone desktop computers), conductors, disconnecting means and over-current protective devices, transfer switches, and all control, supervisory, and support devices up to and including the load terminals of the transfer equipment needed for the system to operate with a safe and reliable source of electrical power (collectively, a "System").
Installation of all Systems must comply with all national, state, and city local Codes.
Tenants operating a System must take the required steps during any equipment failure to protect life safety, personal and real property. If System equipment is showing signs of a problem and the appropriate personnel in charge of the equipment cannot be located, Building Management, as Agent for Landlord, is authorized to take any reasonable action, including removal of batteries from service and/or activating the emergency power-off ("EPO") switch to remove such equipment from the main Building electrical grid and/or by utilizing any other service disconnects available. Building Management and/or Landlord will have no liability to Tenant for actions taken hereunder in connection with an actual or threatened System failure.
If a System does not require an annual permit from the Fire Department because of equipment size, Landlord will require evidence that the tenant/owner of such System maintains the System batteries and equipment per the manufacturer's instructions.

Tenant's Required Preventive Measures

Each Tenant with a System must:

Have a battery failure response policy.
Have available proper spill containment products, when applicable.
Train staff concerning policy and when to use containment products.
Identify all battery products and quantities. Determine what placards and permits are required by your fire district and/or Building Management.
Identify and properly label all EPO and battery disconnects in the Premises.
Maintain and verify battery room temperature and charge voltages.
Perform at least quarterly maintenance inspections per IEEE-1188 (recommended practice for maintenance, testing, and replacement of valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for stationary applications).
Submit to Landlord annually, on the anniversary date of tenant's lease, a copy of tenant's preventive maintenance inspection and policies as set forth above.

Required Actions Upon Threatened or Actual System Failure

Call the Fire Department.
Activate EPO. This is REQUIRED by Fire/Building Codes. The EPO cuts power to and from the UPS and terminates all power to the room. Should tenant be reluctant to activate the EPO, Landlord's Agent or designated contractor has the authority to do so, in order to protect tenant and the Building.
Contact Building Management (303-696-0706).
Contain spill.
Call service technician who is to properly dispose of the failed batteries.

Disposal - Small UPS/Battery Unit

Follow the Universal Waste Guidelines established by the EPA. Spent lead-acid battery becomes a waste product. To find technical requirements, visit www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/wasts.
End-of-life electronic equipment from your business can no longer be accepted for disposal at municipal solid waste landfills. As a result, you are responsible for meeting all of the applicable requirements for locating a hazardous waste disposal facility that can accept this waste. Visit www.grxrecycles.com for your recycling needs.

For Your Information

Signs of Battery Failure Include:

Strong rotten-egg smell (gassing)
Hissing or popping sounds from the jar (gassing)
Excessive heat in one or more cells (also known as thermal runaway) (hot cells too hot to touch)
Fire or melting of the posts or jar cases (fire or smoke)
Exploded or severely damaged jars

Tornado

The bathrooms and stairways of this building will provide the best protection during a tornado. If you hear a Civil Defense siren and/or tornado advisory announcement, please proceed to one of those areas and follow the procedures outlined below.

Tornado Procedures

When a tornado watch is announced, this means that tornadoes are expected in, or near, your area. Keep your radio or television set tuned to a local station for information and advice from your local government and the weather service. Also, keep watching the sky, especially to the south and southwest. If you see any revolving, funnel-shaped clouds, report them immediately by calling 911.
When a tornado warning is issued, it means that a tornado has actually been sighted or has been indicated by radar, and that this or other tornadoes may strike in your vicinity. Public warning will come over the radio, TV, or by five-minute steady blasts of sirens by the Civil Defense warning system. Take the following actions immediately!

Actions to Take

An announcement shall be made using the public address system to warn tenants that a tornado warning/watch has been issued for your area and that it is advisable to have all occupants move to a safe location in the building. Take the following actions immediately:

Get away from the perimeter of the building and exterior glass. If time permits, close drapes, blinds, etc.
Leave your office if it is located on the building’s perimeter - close the door.
Go to the center of the building - bathrooms or stair enclosures.
Sit down and protect yourself by putting your head as close to your lap as possible, or you may kneel while protecting your head.
Do not use elevators and do not go to the first floor lobby or outside the building.
Keep your radio or television set tuned to a local station for information.
Do not use the telephone to get information or advice. This only ties up circuits. Updated information will be passed on to you via the building public address system as often as possible.
If you are trapped in an outside office, seek protection under a desk. Keep calm.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are one of nature’s most frightening natural phenomena. When an earthquake occurs, the ground will shake perceptively for a relatively short time … perhaps only for a few seconds, or for as long as a minute in a great earthquake.

Precautions to Take During an Earthquake

Try to remain calm and to reassure others.
If you are in a high-rise office building, get under a desk. Do not run for exits, since stairways may be broken and jammed with people. Power for elevators may fail and stop operating. Seek safety where you are at the time of the incident and then leave calmly if evacuation is necessary.
Do not be surprised if the electricity goes out, if elevator, fire, and burglar alarms start ringing, or if sprinkler systems go on. Expect to hear noise from breaking glass, cracks in walls and falling objects.
Do not be surprised if you feel more than one shock. After the first motion is felt, there may be a temporary decrease in the motion followed by another shock. (This phenomenon is merely the arrival of different seismic waves from the same earthquake.) Aftershocks may also occur -- these are separate quakes that follow the main shock. Aftershocks may occur several minutes, several hours, or even several days afterwards. Sometimes, aftershocks will cause damage or the collapse of structures that were already weakened by the main earthquake.

Precautions to Take After an Earthquake

When the shaking stops, there may be considerable damage and people may be injured. It is especially important that everyone remains calm and begins the task of taking care of one another. The first concern is for those who are hurt. The next concern is to prevent fires. The risk of fire after an earthquake is very high.

Everyone must be aware of fire procedures. Following that, damage can be assessed and remedial measures begun.
Remain calm and take time to assess your situation.
Assist anyone who is hurt and administer emergency first aid when necessary. Cover injured persons with blankets to keep them warm. Seek medical help (911) for those who need it.
Check for fires and fire hazards. Put out fires immediately if it is safe to do so.
Check for damage to utilities and appliances. Shut off the electricity if there is any possibility the wiring was damaged.
Shut off water lines in your suite if breakage has occurred.
Do not turn on electrical switches or appliances.
Do not touch power lines, electric wiring, or objects in contact with them.
If you detect a natural gas odor, vacate the area immediately. Do not activate any type of device that could create a spark. Once in a safe area, call 911 and report a natural gas leak.

Do not use the telephone except to call for help, to report serious emergencies (medical, fire, or criminal), or to perform some essential service. Jammed telephone lines interfere with emergency services, and it is thoughtless to use the telephone for personal reasons or to satisfy curiosity. When the emergency is clearly over, contact relatives and friends so they will know you are safe.
Be certain that sewer lines are not broken before resuming regular use of toilets.
Clean up and warn others of any spilled materials that are dangerous.
Listen to the radio for information about earthquake and disaster procedures.
Be prepared to experience after shocks. They often do additional damage to buildings weakened by the main shock.
Use great caution when entering or moving about in a damaged building. Collapses can occur without warning and there may be dangers from gas leaks, electric wiring, broken glass, etc.

There are no rules that can eliminate all earthquake danger. However, damage and injury can be greatly reduced by following the simple rules outlined above.

Elevator Emergency

In the event of an elevator malfunction, it is possible that you may be detained in the elevator. While this is unlikely, it is important to be prepared for such an occurrence.
If you are trapped in the elevator during business hours, push the “Emergency Alarm” button inside the elevator, located on the panel to the right of the door. Push this button ONCE to alert building occupants to your situation.
Telephone communication is located in the elevator; inside the panel box below the elevator buttons, and is labeled “PHONE.”

Instructions on Use of Elevator Phone

Push “Emergency Alarm” button once
A dial tone will be heard
A red light indicates the elevator Service Company is being called
The elevator service company operator will respond to you
Two-way voice communication is now possible
Do not push the button a second time unless you become disconnected
Inform the service company operator of your location

Do not try to force open the elevator doors.
Unless you are specifically instructed to do so by emergency personnel, never attempt to leave the elevator if it is stopped between floors.
Relax and stay calm until help arrives. Please allow approximately one-half hour from the time of your call for help to arrive at your location.

Elevator Emergencies Requiring Fire Department Assistance

During an elevator emergency, 911 should only be called if the person(s) inside is/are trapped, as defined by the Denver Fire Department. A situation involving one or more of the following would warrant a call to 911:

The ability to communicate with the person(s) is lost
The person(s) request that 911 be called
There is a medical emergency (panic included)
There is an environmental emergency (fire, chemical, bomb threat, etc.)
A wall has to be breached or person(s) must be removed by any means other than under their own power and via the normal passenger exit door.
Personnel from Building Management, Engineering, Security, etc., deem it necessary to call 911
The responding elevator company or mechanic deems it necessary to call 911
Due to weather or other conditions (e.g. mechanic responding from home), the response time will be longer than thirty (30) minutes

Note: Any time 911 is dialed; it must be preceded by a 9 to reach an outside line.

Natural Gas Emergency

Please adhere to the following if a natural gas odor is present in the building:

Leave the area immediately.
Do not stop to turn anything on or off, do not open or close anything. Have all smoking cease immediately, and evacuate out and away from the building as quickly as possible.
From a safe area, notify the Denver Fire Department by dialing 911.
Contact Excel Energy, Natural Gas Division at 303-623-1234 and notify them of the situation.
Contact the Building Management to have the odor investigated.
The individual who discovered the gas leak should identify him/herself to the Fire Department once they are outside the building.
Under no circumstances is anyone to return to the building for any reason until the “all clear” is given by the Fire Department.

Environmental Emergency

Quickly evacuate the affected area. From a safe location, notify the Denver Fire Department immediately by dialing 911. Notify them concerning any chemical spill in the building and then call the Building Management Office at 303-696-0706.

Those persons with knowledge of the incident need to be available to the Denver Fire Department, Building Management, and/or emergency response personnel outside the building in order to answer questions. A description of what happened, where, when, and the type of product(s) spilled will be extremely valuable. If possible, try to obtain the label from the product or container.

The Denver Fire Department and Building Management will make a decision regarding how best to proceed once all the facts have been received. Only when the environmental hazard is removed will the affected areas of the building be allowed to be re-occupied.

Restrict access to the area to prevent additional exposures. Place exposed personnel together in a contained/controlled area.

The HVAC system should be shut down to reduce exposures, both inside and outside of the building.

Water Interruption or Flood

Water Interruption

A temporary interruption of the water supply may result in the disruption of building services. Without water, it is not possible to maintain sanitary conditions or building cooling systems. Additionally, water interruption limits the Fire Department’s ability to extinguish fires.

Flood

In the event of a flood, we will evacuate and close the affected areas of the building. Flooding can cause great harm to the electrical equipment that serves the building and may disrupt the sanitary water supply.

If there is a slow water leak (not considered a flood) in the restroom or a tenant space, please inform the Building Management Office immediately.

Because of the extreme danger generated by floods and subsequent electrical problems, in the event of an actual flood:

Evacuate the area to a dry and safe place.
Call Building Management at 303-696-0706.
Call 9-911 for the Fire Department.
Explain the location of the flooding and the probable cause. Remember to give the building’s address.

Follow these same procedures should the sprinkler system release within the building.

Stranger In Building and Hostage Situation

Stranger in Building

The best way to avoid having to deal with a stranger in the building is to help ensure that all security policies are followed, by keeping valuables locked away, and by keeping office doors locked when the offices are not occupied. Don’t create a situation that will attract strangers.

Report the presence of suspicious individuals in or about the property to Building Management. A physical description of the person and the location where they were last seen will also be important information to communicate.

If a stranger is discovered in the building, it is best to address them in a non-threatening manner, asking who/what they are looking for. Never attempt to restrain the individual(s). If they become confrontational, do not react aggressively. Immediately remove yourself from the situation and contact building security, giving them the description of the stranger(s). Building Security will immediately respond to the location and also place a call to the Police Department requesting an officer.

Hostage Situation

Report any situation involving hostages to the Denver Police Department by calling 9-911. Helpful information to give the Police Department includes:

A physical description of the person(s) and their location
Whether or not they are armed
The number of hostages and their location

After the Police have been notified, inform Building Management of the situation.

Tenant Handbook