What Should a Retail Store Emergency Action Plan Cover?
What should a retail store emergency action plan template cover?
A retail store emergency action plan template tells the manager what to do when a caller says there’s a bomb in the building, a robber demands the till, or a protest nearby turns into broken storefronts. OSHA’s 1910.38 requires a written plan, or oral for 10 or fewer employees, including evacuation, headcount and alarms, wherever another OSHA standard requires one. Add a decision-maker, a bomb threat script, robbery steps and an unrest trigger, since police can arrive far later than expected. Fill in the template below and post it.
What does OSHA’s baseline plan requirement actually cover?
OSHA’s standard on emergency action plans, 29 CFR 1910.38, is the federal floor once another OSHA standard in Part 1910 pulls it in. A plan must be in writing, kept in the workplace, and available for employee review, except that an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally (OSHA). It must set out procedures for emergency evacuation, including the type of evacuation and exit route assignments, and a method to account for every employee after they clear the building, backed by an alarm system the employer must have and maintain. The alarm must use a distinctive signal for each purpose and comply with section 1910.165. The same rule also requires procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency, procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties, and the name or job title of a contact for plan questions. OSHA stated in a 1986 interpretation that the choice to fight a fire with an extinguisher cannot sit with the employee; that decision belongs in the written plan (OSHA). Write down which standard triggers your plan and who made the extinguisher call, before an inspector asks.
Who takes charge before police arrive?
The DHS-DOJ bomb threat guidance tells organizations to set clear primary and alternate levels of authority, called Site Decision Makers, and to keep that person on scene until the situation resolves or someone else relieves them. A retail plan should assign that role by position, so the shift supervisor on duty at 2 a.m. knows the job is theirs before the phone rings. Ready.gov tells businesses to ask fire, police and EMS directly about their response time to the store, their knowledge of the building, and their ability to stabilize an emergency there. NPR reported that average response times in New Orleans nearly tripled, from 51 minutes in 2019 to 146 minutes in the year before NPR’s January 2023 report, though no national program tracks the figure. However long police take, the Site Decision Maker stays on scene until the situation resolves or someone relieves them. Put that role on the weekly schedule.
What should our plan tell associates to do in a bomb threat call, robbery or nearby unrest before police arrive?
Write a separate first-minute script for each: a checklist and threat-level call for a bomb threat, a comply-then-lock sequence for robbery, and a written board-up or closure trigger for unrest.
Bomb threat call. CISA’s bomb threat checklist treats a phoned-in threat as serious until proven otherwise and tells whoever answers to remain calm, not hang up, and keep the caller on the line as long as possible, while asking where the bomb is located. CISA’s bombing prevention page notes that bomb threats mostly arrive by phone but also come in person, by email, social media, a written note or other means. Because most threats turn out to be false, the Site Decision Maker has to judge how seriously to take this one: a minimal threat is discounted based on experience, a low threat gets a lockdown so no suspicious item enters the site, a moderate threat gets a lockdown plus a full or partial search for a device, and a specific or realistic high threat gets a partial or full evacuation (CISA). The DHS-DOJ guidance also warns against using two-way radios during any search until the area has been checked and cleared. Keep a written bomb threat checklist at every phone that takes outside calls.
Robbery. OSHA’s late-night retail guidance lists, as a training topic, turning over money or valuables without resistance, the same rule behind a no-chase, no-touch policy. Once the robber leaves, lock every door and admit no one until police and company officials arrive, per Florida’s robbery guidelines for convenience stores (Florida Attorney General). Call 911 as soon as the area is secure, whether or not a silent alarm already fired (Florida Attorney General). The guidelines stress that time is critical, because the chance of catching a robber drops significantly within the first 30 minutes (Florida Attorney General). Then freeze all documents and cash until police and internal auditors say it is fine to resume (Florida Attorney General). Ask customers who saw the robbery to stay until police arrive and not to discuss details of the incident (Florida Attorney General). Keep this robbery script posted in a format associates can actually use mid-shift.
Nearby civil unrest. Build the unrest trigger from local police and planning guidance like the two documents below. The Saint Paul Police Department’s flyer, titled Protecting Your Business During Civil Unrest, offers businesses 12 actions to mitigate the risk, including being prepared to board up windows and doors if protests are planned for the area. A civil disturbance planning document hosted by York County’s planning commission calls for an emergency operations plan that names who does what, when, with what resources, and by what authority, before, during and immediately after the event, so make sure your plan names who holds that authority. Tony Sheppard, quoted in Loss Prevention Magazine, said police in most cities lacked the manpower to keep up during 2020’s unrest. With police stretched that thin, give the closure call to the on-site Site Decision Maker. The civil unrest crisis response article covers how larger chains assign that authority. Set the trigger in writing, in two stages. A protest planned for your area means preparing to board up windows and doors, per the Saint Paul flyer. Closing and evacuating the store is Sheppard’s rule: “you want to close and evacuate the store so people don’t get hurt.” Decide in writing what sign moves your store from the first stage to the second; the Site Decision Maker makes that call.
| Scenario | First decision | What to record or do | Customers | Notify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bomb threat call | Decision Maker judges threat level: discount for minimal, lock down for low, lock down and search for moderate, evacuate for high | Caller’s exact words and the stated device location, plus any other detail the team can capture | Hold or evacuate based on threat level, keep the call out of customers’ earshot | Site Decision Maker notifies police, corporate security and LP/AP |
| Robbery | Comply first, resist nothing | Description of the robber, direction of travel, items taken | Ask witnesses to stay until police arrive and not to discuss the incident | Site Decision Maker calls 911 once secure, then notifies LP/AP and corporate |
| Nearby unrest | Protest planned nearby: prepare to board up. When the store’s own second signal is met: close and evacuate | Time protest activity was first visible, direction it is moving | Dismiss or shelter customers before the crowd reaches the lot | Site Decision Maker notifies corporate security and LP/AP, then local police for situational awareness |
What happens after a robbery?
Leave cash, a dropped weapon, or a note left behind untouched and keep people away from it, and name one person on the plan to note what was left and where, using the same documentation standard your team already follows for writing better incident reports. The Site Decision Maker reopens only once police and internal auditors give the go-ahead, per Florida’s robbery guidelines for convenience stores (Florida Attorney General). Put the freeze-and-reopen rule on the template so the closer does not have to invent it after the robber is gone.
How often should the store drill each scenario?
Washington’s Late Night Retail Worker Crime Prevention rule, WAC 296-832, applies to retail businesses operating between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., other than restaurants, hotels, taverns and lodging facilities, and requires employees working any time during those hours to complete training before that shift begins, then a refresher course annually. Washington requires the annual refresher; this article recommends treating it as the floor for bomb threat and robbery drills, even in stores Washington’s rule does not cover. Pair the annual run-through with a short huddle refresher between drills, using a five-minute loss prevention huddle card to keep the bomb threat questions fresh without pulling the whole team off the floor.
What does a fill-in retail emergency action plan template look like?
Copy this template, fill in every blank for your store, and post it where the shift supervisor can read it under stress. Evacuation, headcount and the alarm system follow the minimum elements in 29 CFR 1910.38; the scenario rows add plain advice from the retail scenarios covered above. A store in a state with its own approved plan, such as one regulated by Cal/OSHA, should confirm its state version of the standard before posting it, since the state rule controls there.
| Plan section | What to write | Fill in for this store |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting a fire or other emergency | How an associate reports it, and to whom | ________ |
| Evacuation | Type of evacuation and exit route assignments | ________ |
| Staff who stay behind | Who remains to shut down critical operations before evacuating, if anyone | ________ |
| Headcount | Where everyone meets and who accounts for all employees after evacuation | ________ |
| Rescue or medical duties | Who performs them, or “none” | ________ |
| Plan contact | Name or job title of every employee who can explain the plan | ________ |
| Alarm | One distinctive signal for each purpose | ________ |
| Fire extinguishers | Total evacuation, or the named employees authorized to use them | ________ |
| Evacuation assistants and review | Who is trained to assist; review the plan with each employee when hired, when duties change, and when the plan changes | ________ |
| Site Decision Maker | Primary and alternate, by position | ________ |
| Police, fire and EMS response time | The answer each agency gave when asked about this store | ________ |
| Bomb threat | Where the CISA checklist sits, and the action for each threat level | ________ |
| Robbery | Comply, lock doors after, call 911 once secure, ask witnesses to stay | ________ |
| Nearby unrest | The board-up signal and the close-and-evacuate signal | ________ |
| Contacts | Police non-emergency, corporate security, LP or AP | ________ |
What to do this week
- Name this shift’s Site Decision Maker and write it on the schedule.
- Fill in the template and post it by every phone that takes outside calls and at the register.
- Confirm which OSHA standard triggers your plan and who decided your fire-extinguisher policy.
- Ask your local police and fire department directly about their response time to your store.
- Schedule the first annual bomb threat and robbery drill using the template above.
Frequently asked questions
What belongs in a retail store emergency action plan template?
Start with the six minimum elements in 29 CFR 1910.38, the alarm and the training and review rules, then add what a store faces: a named Site Decision Maker with an alternate, a bomb threat checklist with threat-level actions, robbery steps, and a written signal for closing during unrest. Complete it for your store.
Does OSHA's emergency action plan standard cover bomb threats?
OSHA's standard, 29 CFR 1910.38, requires evacuation routes, headcount procedures and an alarm system, all general to any hazard. The bomb threat checklist and threat-level guidance come from CISA, a separate agency, so build a retail plan from both documents instead of expecting OSHA's general standard to cover the bomb threat script.
Does an employer with exactly 10 employees need a written emergency action plan?
OSHA's own rule draws the line at 10 or fewer employees, which includes an employer with exactly 10 on staff, qualifying it for the oral option. Keep written records anyway: an unwritten plan can be hard to show an inspector.
What do Florida's robbery guidelines say about reopening a robbed store?
Florida's robbery guidelines, written for convenience stores, say to freeze all documents and cash and discontinue operations until police and internal auditors advise resuming business. Those guidelines also tell staff to secure every entrance right away so no one enters before officers and company leaders arrive.
Should a store chain or block emergency exits to stop theft through the back door?
Chaining or blocking an emergency exit to stop back-door theft works against the same evacuation routes required for a fire or a bomb threat evacuation. Use a door alarm, delayed-exit hardware where your fire code permits it, or camera coverage instead, so the route stays clear when the plan actually needs it.