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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **CORRECTIONS DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: CY
9
10 Contingency Management
11
12 Chapter: 03
13
14 Fire, Natural Disaster, Explosion, or Bomb Threat
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 CY 03 07/06/2011, PY 07 05/13/2009, CY 09 08/04/2009
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21 Published:
22
23 03/12/2012
24
25 Review Date:
26
27 04/13/2021
28
29
30 Sheriff Cory C. Pulsipher
31
32 Chief Deputy Jake Schultz
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34
35 **__TABLE OF CONTENTS__**
36
37 CY 03_101 Definitions
38
39 CY 03_102 References
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41 CY 03_103 General
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43 CY 03_104 Assessment and Notification
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45 CY 03_105 Bomb Threat
46
47 CY 03_106 Documentation
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49
50 **CY 03_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
51
52 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
53 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
54
55 **CY 03_102 __REFERENCES__**
56
57 1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Standards:
58 11. 2000-25.
59 1. Utah Sheriffs' Association Jail Standards:
60 11. F06.01.02: Content: Emergency Response
61
62 **CY 03_103 __GENERAL__**
63
64 1. Policy:
65 11. PCF should plan and coordinate with emergency response agencies, teams, and coordinators to establish preparations for fire, natural disaster, explosion, and bomb threat emergencies. The Washington County Emergency Operations Director should participate in developing a plan to coordinate law enforcement, medical, fire, and other emergency services in Washington County. The emergency plan should be reviewed annually by the Washington County Emergency Operations Director and the Sheriff, or his designee. Preparations should include identifying temporary inmate containment areas (reference policy: [[CY 02 Evacuation and Alternative containment>>doc:Policy.Corrections.CY 02 Evacuation and Alternative Containment.WebHome]]).
66 11. In the event of a fire, natural disaster, explosion, or bomb threat, the Washington County Emergency Operations Director should coordinate the emergency response and be responsible for assigning resources and assets.
67 1. Rationale:
68 11. Without prior planning and coordination, the effectiveness of emergency response efforts will be greatly diminished. To reasonably ensure that PCF receives necessary emergency services and support, prior planning and coordination are required.
69 11. Should a fire, natural disaster, or explosion damage PCF to the extent that it becomes necessary to evacuate all or part of the facility, approximately 500 inmates may need to be safely and securely relocated and contained.
70 11. A fire, natural disaster, or explosion of sufficient magnitude to seriously damage the jail, may have the potential of damaging or severing water, sewer, and gas lines; interrupting electricity; damaging the Quail Creek Reservoir dam; and absorbing resources needed to respond to the needs of PCF.
71
72 **CY 03_104 __ASSESSMENT AND NOTIFICATION__**
73
74 1. Policy:
75 11. After the onset of a fire or natural disaster, or after an explosion, PCF staff should promptly:
76 111. Commence evacuation and alternative containment procedures, if deemed necessary (reference policy: [[CY 02 Evacuation and Alternative containment>>doc:Policy.Corrections.CY 02 Evacuation and Alternative Containment.WebHome]]).
77 111. Conduct a headcount and injury assessment of all staff. Staff shall report all injuries to the on-duty supervisor. Significant injuries (i.e., immediate medical attention is required) shall be reported without delay;
78 111. Conduct a headcount and injury assessment of all inmates. All inmates should be placed on lockdown status in their housing units if doing so can be accomplished without jeopardizing safety or security. Staff should report all injuries to the on-duty supervisor. Significant injuries (i.e., immediate medical attention is required) shall be reported without delay;
79 111. Conduct an initial facility damage assessment, safety check, and security check. Areas of concern and/or damage shall be reported to the on-duty supervisor. Areas of severe concern (e.g., broken gas line) shall be reported without delay. Inspections should be made of structures, lines, door alignments, locking systems, electronic equipment, and other equipment.
80 11. The on-duty supervisor should notify and report all findings to the Corrections Chief Deputy.
81 11. The Corrections Chief Deputy should determine and/or delegate further notifications. Depending on circumstances, injuries, damages, safety concerns, or security threats, notification should be made to:
82 111. Sheriff;
83 111. Undersheriff;
84 111. Dispatch;
85 111. Washington County Emergency Operations Director;
86 111. Local law enforcement agencies;
87 111. Local fire departments;
88 111. Dixie Regional Medical Center;
89 111. Washington County Maintenance Department;
90 111. Washington County building inspectors;
91 111. Designated special response teams;
92 111. Utility companies.
93 1. Rationale:
94 11. A thorough inspection is necessary because even a small incident (such as a small earthquake) may rupture a gas line, spring a door lock, or cause other damage which may require immediate attention.
95 11. In addition to the initial safety and security checks by PCF staff, Washington County Maintenance staff should conduct thorough inspections of all facility structures and systems.
96 11. Professional inspections may be required and conducted (e.g., natural gas lines should be inspected by the Questar Gas Company).
97
98 **CY 03_105 __BOMB THREAT__**
99
100 1. Policy:
101 11. Bomb threats should be treated as verified bomb threats until otherwise disproved by a bomb response team.
102 11. If a bomb threat is received for PCF, staff should promptly:
103 111. Evacuate the areas at risk; and
104 111. Contact Dispatch and request a bomb response team;
105 11. The on-duty supervisor should notify the Corrections Chief Deputy.
106 11. The Corrections Chief Deputy should determine and/or delegate further notifications (as detailed above in section CY 03_104.A.3).
107 11. PCF staff should not search for a suspected bomb, they should allow the bomb response team to do so.
108 11. An evacuated area should not be re-entered until it has been determined safe by the bomb response team and approved by the Corrections Chief Deputy.
109 1. Rationale:
110 11. Even though a bomb threat could be a prank or other false alarm (such as a diversion), staff should handle all bomb threats as verified threats until disproved in order to maximize safety and security and minimize liability.
111 11. Untrained staff searching for a bomb could unintentionally detonate it.
112
113 **CY 03_106 __DOCUMENTATION__**
114
115 1. Policy:
116 11. Incidents related to a fire, natural disaster, explosion, or bomb threat should be documented as a jail incident in the jail computer system.