Lawyer Eric Roher @ERoher on Emergency & Disaster Planning In Schools

EMERGENCY AND DISASTER
PLANNING IN SCHOOLS

Canadian Safe Schools Network
February 25, 2014

Eric M. Roher
Partner
Tel: 416.367.6004
E-mail: eroher@blg.com

“The fuel light’s on, Frank! We’re all going to die!. . .
We’re all going to die!. . .Wait, wait. . .Oh, my
mistake – that’s the intercom light.”
2

The Impetus
♦ April 20, 1999 – Columbine High School

(Littleton, Colorado) attack
♦ April 28, 1999 – W.R. Myers High School

(Taber, Alberta) shooting
♦ June 16, 2000 – Tobermory Tour Boat Incident
♦ Spring 2003 – SARS Outbreak

3

The Impetus - continued
♦ September 13, 2006 – Dawson College

Shooting
♦ April 16, 2007 – Virginia Tech Shooting
♦ May 23, 2007 – Shooting of a Student at C.W.

Jeffery’s Collegiate Institute, Toronto

4

The Impetus - continued
♦ February 12, 2010 – During a meeting on

campus, Amy Bishop, a biology professor,
began to shoot her colleagues, Huntsville,
Alabama
♦ December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, killed 20

children and six others at Sandy Hook
Elementary School, Newtown, Conn.

5

Virginia Tech Shooting – April 16, 2007
♦ In 1992, Seung-Hui Cho’s family emigrated to

America.
♦ In high school, Cho was unresponsive in class

and unwilling to speak.
♦ September 2005, Cho entered Virginia Tech.
♦ Girls made two complaints to police; they found

him bothersome, not threatening.

6

Virginia Tech Shooting - continued
♦ Counsellor recommended involuntary

commitment.
♦ Doctor declared him mentally ill but not an

imminent threat.
♦ In class, some students thought Cho was unable

to hear and speak.
♦ He sometimes introduced himself as “Question

Mark”, persona of a man who lived on Mars.
7

♦ Cho purchased a Walther .22-caliber pistol from

an Internet gun site. Picked it up at a pawnshop
on February 9, 2007.
♦ March 12, 2007, Cho rented a van. Kept vehicle

for almost a month.
♦ March 13, 2007, Cho bought a 9 mm Glock

pistol. He took 50 rounds of ammunition.

8

♦ Cho went shopping between March 31st and

April 13th to purchase cargo pants, ammunition,
hunting knife, gloves and chains.
♦ Spent thousands of dollars preparing for the

attack, charged to a credit card.
♦ Cho cropped his hair to a military buzz cut.
♦ He worked out with frenzy at the gym.

9

April 16, 2007
♦ Shortly after 7:00 a.m. Cho shot Emily Hilscher, a

freshman, and Ryan Clark, a dorm resident adviser.
♦ There was no connection between Cho and Hilscher.
♦ Cho returned to his dorm room.
♦ He assembled a package – videos of himself, 43

photographs and a 1,800 word statement.

10

♦ Cho took his package to a small post office a

few blocks from campus, waited in line and sent
it by overnight mail to NBC in New York. It was
stamped 9:01 a.m.
♦ At 9:30 a.m. Cho entered Norris Hall carrying a

backpack with guns, chains and knives.
♦ He wrapped the chains around the interior

handles of the doors.
11

♦ Within 15 minutes, he fired more than 175

rounds in killing 30 people in four classrooms.
♦ Police officers blasted open the door with a

shotgun.
♦ Police found Cho’s body in a stairwell.

♦ He had shot himself.
♦ Police shouted: “Shooter down! Black Tag!”
12

♦ Pastor at the Korean Church in Centreville

watched the tapes on television.
♦ He told a Seoul newspaper:

“All my family said that was not the Sueng-Hui
we knew. It was the first time we saw him
speaking in full sentences.”

13

Emergency
♦ A situation that can be handled by the

established response system of the police or fire
department through normal procedures.
♦ Examples include a chemical spill or bomb

scare.

14

Crisis
♦ An abnormal situation with a potential to have

serious impact on institutional operations.
♦ Examples include an extended power outage or

major storm.

15

Disaster
♦ An event causing significant loss, hardship

and/or suffering to many people.
♦ Frequently overwhelm emergency response

resources and personnel.
♦ Recovery process is long and complex.
♦ Examples include bomb explosion and large

scale flood.

16

Legal Principles
♦ Negligence.
♦ Duty of care, breach, causation, remoteness,

damages.
♦ Protect students from reasonably foreseeable

risks of injury.
♦ Legal principles inform emergency

preparedness and response strategies.

17

Burden of Proof
Burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show, on
the balance of probabilities, that the defendant
did not meet the standard of care of a
reasonable person in given circumstances.

18

Elements of Negligence
♦ Defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.
♦ Defendant breached the duty of care.
♦ Defendant’s breach was cause of plaintiff’s

injury.
♦ Plaintiff suffered actual damage or loss as a

result of the injury.

19

Foreseeability
♦ Key in determination of whether a school had

legal responsibility to take action.
♦ Not only what a school knew, but also what it

ought to have known.
♦ School took reasonable steps to reduce risk

of injury/accident.

20

School Board
♦ Vicariously liable for all acts of negligence

undertaken by its employees and volunteers.
♦ Liability flows from the teacher to the principal to

the school board.
♦ Insurance coverage for acts within scope of

employment.

21

Standard of Care in Schools
♦ Reasonably prudent or careful parent in the

circumstances.
♦ School authorities act in loco parentis.

♦ Protect their students from reasonably

foreseeable risk of harm.
♦ Duty of care to students on or off school

premises.

22

Ontario Education Act
♦ Duty of Principal:
 To maintain proper order and discipline in the school.
 To give assiduous attention to the health and comfort

of pupils under their care.
 Provide for the supervision of pupils during the school

day.

23

Ontario Education Act - continued
♦ Duty of Teacher:
 To maintain, under the direction of the Principal,

proper order and discipline in the classroom.
 On duty in the school.
 On the school grounds.

24

Ontario Education Act - continued
♦ Duty of School Board:
 Keep school buildings and premises in proper repair

and in proper sanitary conditions.
 Provide suitable furniture and equipment and keep it

in proper repair.
 Protect the property of the Board.
 Make provision for adequate insurance.

25

Occupational Health and Safety Act
♦ The OHSA came into force in 1979.
♦ Designed to set administrative, legal procedural

standards for health and safety in Ontario’s
workplaces.
♦ Achieves these ends through an “internal

responsibility system.”
♦ Places responsibility for health and safety on the

stakeholders by creating duties for employers,
supervisors and workers.
26

Establish a Joint Health and Safety
Committee
♦ Identify situations that may be a source of

danger to workers.
♦ Make recommendations for improvement of

health and safety.
♦ Recommend maintenance and monitoring

programs.
♦ Obtain information from employer about

potential hazards.
27

Under the OHSA, an employer shall:
♦ Provide information, instruction and supervision to a

worker to protect the health and safety of the worker.
♦ When appointing a supervisor, appoint a competent

person.
♦ Take every precaution reasonable in the

circumstances for the protection of a worker.
♦ Prepare and review at least annually a written OHSA

policy.
28

Penalties
♦ Ministry of Labour is responsible for carrying

out prosecutions under the OHSA.
♦ Conviction may lead to a fine of up to $25,000

or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
♦ Where corporation is convicted of an offence,

the maximum fine is increased to $500,000.

29

Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
♦ OHSA permits workers to refuse work they believe

is unsafe in appropriate circumstances.
♦ Act requires the worker to immediately report the

circumstances to their supervisor and employer who
will conduct the investigation.
♦ If, after the inspection, worker still refuses to

perform work, an inspector from the Ministry must
be summoned to carry out second inspection.

30

Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
♦ Law protects employees who engage in

legitimate refusals.
♦ Employer may not discipline an employee who

has engaged in a legitimate refusal.
♦ However, if employee does not have proper

grounds for a work refusal, employer may be
justified in taking disciplinary action.

31

Dawson College Shooting – September
13, 2006
♦ Dawson College is the largest CEGEP in

Quebec with 10,000 students.
♦ Kim Veer Gill was a 25-year-old student who had

dropped out of high school.
♦ 10:41 a.m. Gill posted his last entry on the

website vampirefreaks.com, mentioning how
good whiskey tastes in the morning.

32

Dawson College Shooting - continued
♦ He packed an arsenal of 3 weapons - a 9 mm

Beretta semi-automatic rifle, a block .45 caliber
pistol and a 12 gauge shotgun.
♦ All the guns were legally registered in Mr. Gill’s

name.
♦ 12:30 pm. Gill drove his Pontiac Sunfire from his

parents home and parked it outside a daycare
centre.

33

♦ He calmly removed the weapons from the trunk.
♦ Carrying a rifle Gill walked to the main entrance

of Dawson College.
♦ He shot several people who were on the

sidewalk, then proceeded inside.
♦ Inside the College, Gill shot at random.

34

♦ He singled out Anastasia De Sousa, an 18-year-

old student, who was shot at point blank range.
♦ 12:41 p.m. The first of 400 calls came in to 911.

♦ 12:44 p.m. Two young police officers followed

Gill into the building.
♦ Gill took at least two hostages and used them as

human shields.

35

♦ In an exchange of gunfire with police, Gill was hit

in the arm.
♦ 1:10 p.m. Gill shot himself in the College atrium.
♦ Hours of chaos followed as police scoured the

building, looking for possible accomplices and
evacuating Dawson students.
♦ Nine victims were taken to hospital, including four

in critical care.
36

Lessons Learned
Challenges of Dawson’s physical space
♦ 91,000 square metres
♦ 29 exits
♦ Building is located on a city block
♦ Rises five storeys on Sherbrooke Street.

37

Lessons Learned
♦ Police operations at the beginning focused on a

terrorist attack.
♦ The cell phone network was compromised.
♦ Reports of other shooters – Gill took escalator

up and down floors.

38

Lessons Learned
♦ Need for a lockdown plan.
♦ All employees and students must be aware of

emergency procedures.
♦ Review accessibility to the College.
♦ Review of security needs, number of guards

increased.
♦ New public address system and improved cell

phone network.
39

Rogers Pass Avalanche – February 1,
2003
♦ Grade 10 class from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir

School went on a backcountry ski trip.
♦ Part of the school’s curriculum.

♦ Weather report for February 1, 2003 indicated

that avalanche danger below the tree line was
“modest”.

40

Rogers Pass Avalanche - continued
♦ Avalanche threat was “considerable”.
♦ Report said that “natural triggers are probable.”
♦ Two weeks prior, another avalanche only 40

kilometres away had killed 7 tourists.
♦ Rogers Pass is one of the most unstable areas

in Western Canada.

41

The Students were well prepared
♦ Before the trip, they had completed fitness tests

and lessons on avalanche awareness.
♦ During the ascent the students travelled in pairs.

♦ They followed the standard practice of keeping

30 to 50 feet between pairs.

42

Safety measures were taken
♦ The Guides were certified and had backcountry

experience.
♦ Guides stopped the students during the trip and

quizzed them on avalanche safety.
♦ Each student had a shovel, probe and

avalanche beacon.

43

At 11:45 a.m.
♦ Something caused the snow above the tree line

to crack and slide down the mountain.
♦ The snow swept into the students and their

guides, carrying some more than 200 yards.
♦ 40 rescuers made their way to the scene.
♦ Tragically, seven students died.

44

Consultant’s Report – June 23, 2003
♦ School should reassess tolerance for risk.
♦ Board of the school should provide program staff

with direction on the school’s tolerance for risk.
♦ Do not leave it to individual staff members to

determine tolerance for risk.

45

♦ The school should implement a disclosure policy

that enables parents to assess levels of risk on
each trip.
♦ The school should review its process of

communicating outdoor education information to
parents.
♦ The school should review its outdoor education

course outlines and trip packages.

46

♦ Ensure parents receive adequate and accurate

information about field trips and the level of risk.
♦ Draft consent forms in a way that motivates

parents to read and understand its content.
♦ Develop receiving and tracking mechanisms to

ensure that consent forms are collected and
accounted for before field trips.

47

♦ Review field trip leader qualification

requirements (for full-time staff, assistant leaders
and volunteer leaders).
♦ School should implement a consistent field trip

planning process that involves documentation.
♦ If the school wishes to continue with avalanche

education, it should find a safe venue and
method for doing so.

48

SARS Closure of Father Michael
McGivney Catholic Academy
♦ March 2003, Ontario Government activated a

health emergency as response to SARS.
♦ Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is spread

through close contact with an infected person.

49

♦ May 2003, a student was identified as suspected

case of SARS.
♦ Student attended last class on May 23, 2003.

♦ Others attending the school may have been

exposed to SARS.

50

♦ York Region Health Services, in co-operation

with the School Board, closed the school.
♦ All persons who attended the school were

placed in quarantine until June 2nd.
♦ Health Services arranged for face masks and

thermometers.

51

Communication
♦ Information on the Board’s website - posted

information/letters;
♦ Bulletins from Health Department;

♦ Newspaper ads;
♦ Board communiqués to teacher and staff;

52

Communication Plan
♦ Press releases and press conferences;
♦ Specific communiqués to principals, custodial

staff and feeder schools; and
♦ A telephone hotline to answer inquiries and

provide advice.

53

Steps taken by the School Board
♦ Prior to opening the school on June 3rd, Board

arranged for a thorough cleaning.
♦ Convened a staff meeting.

♦ Arranged to have a health care professional at

school on June 3rd.
♦ Professional responded to all questions and

concerns of staff and students.

54

Steps taken by the School Board
♦ No loss of pay, sick leave or vacation for

employees.
♦ Students were not academically disadvantaged.

♦ Assignments were rescheduled.
♦ Took a team approach.
♦ Responded quickly and effectively to public

health emergency.

55

Risk Management
♦ Risk management is the process of planning,

organizing and controlling activities that contain
an element of risk of injury to the participant.

56

Risk Management involves the following
steps:
♦ Identify and assess exposures to injury.
♦ Identify various risk management strategies to

address these exposures.
♦ Select and implement the appropriate strategy

or strategies.
♦ Monitor results and make improvements where

necessary.

57

Risk Identification
♦ The School needs to assess its tolerance for risk

and communicate this through policy to relevant
staff.
♦ This is a policy decision that should not be left to

individual program staff to determine.

58

Risk Identification – School Level
♦ What are the risks inherent in the activity?
♦ How much supervision is required?
♦ Does the facility have liability insurance?
♦ Is the activity age appropriate?

♦ What is your emergency plan?

59

Communication with Parents
♦ Parents should receive adequate information about

the activity to enable them to assess the level of risk
to their child.
♦ Informed consent forms should outline not only

information about the activity, but should also include
the risks involved.
♦ Schools should have a clear and precise policy

regarding how to notify parents of an emergency
situation in a timely manner.

60

Communication with Parents
♦ Students need full safety briefings regarding

the use of emergency gear and procedures.
♦ Students should receive adequate information

about the activity to enable them to assess the
level of risk.

61

Risk Management Strategies
There are three strategies to choose from:
♦

Risk Avoidance

♦

Risk Reduction

♦

Risk Transfer

62

Risk Avoidance
♦ After completing the Risk Assessment, you

may determine that the risks are too high and
decide to avoid the activity altogether.

63

Risk Reduction
♦ Can the activity be modified to reduce the risk?
♦ Should equipment be worn?
♦ Should the location of the events be changed?
♦ Should the dates of the trip or excursion be

changed?

64

Risk Transfer
♦ Have you ensured that the contractor has the

necessary expertise and certification to provide
the services?
♦ Are they appropriately insured against liability?
♦ Are their employees properly qualified or

trained?
♦ Does their equipment or vehicle meet safety

standards?
65

Select and implement an appropriate
strategy

66

7 Steps for Developing an Emergency
Plan
1. Elicit the support and commitment of the Board

of Trustees and School Board administrators;
2. Form a team composed of stakeholders who

represent key sections of the school
community.
3. Perform an emergency audit and risk

assessment.

67

7 Steps for Developing an Emergency
Plan
4. Develop an emergency plan and procedures.
5. Conduct training on the plan with school staff,

students and parents.
6. Facilitate a debriefing and discussion after each

incident.
7. Evaluate and review emergency plan on a

regular basis.

68

Emergency Plan
Ideally, an Emergency Plan should include the
following components and information:
♦ Identification of key emergency response team

members.
♦ Evacuation location(s).
♦ First aid/emergency kit location(s).

♦ Location of media staging area.

69

Emergency Plan
♦ School map and floor plan.
♦ Who should the family members contact?
♦ How should special needs students be dealt

with?
♦ Who is in charge?
♦ Should the media be contacted? By whom?
♦ Emergency telephone directory.

70

Communication of the Emergency Plan
♦ The Emergency Plan should be communicated

broadly to all stakeholders.
♦ As with all school practices, the Emergency

Plan should be reviewed, rehearsed, and
revised regularly.

71

Loss Prevention
♦ The school should have annual in-service

training for teachers and other staff with respect
to emergency and response plans and
procedures.
♦ Reviewing all previous incidents of injury.
♦ Discuss how the incident was handled by

school administrators.

72

Loss Prevention
♦ Continually re-evaluating existing safety

procedures.
♦ Following Board guidelines which specify

appropriate standards of care and supervision
of students.
♦ Keeping abreast of what other school boards

are doing.

73

Conclusion
To create major changes in the workplace,
the organization needs:
♦ a sense of urgency;
♦ a guiding coalition; and
♦ vision and strategy.

74

What we need to strive for
♦ Commitment and allocation of staff and

resources by school administration to make
emergency response planning a priority.

75

“Somebody has to do something,
and it’s just incredibly pathetic that
it has to be us.”
Jerry Garcia

76

“Look, I’m not saying it’s going to be today. But
someday – someday – you guys will be happy that
you’ve taken along a lawyer.”
77

Lawyer Eric Roher @ERoher on Emergency & Disaster Planning In Schools

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