An Emergency Action Plan is the document you hand a supervisor at 7:45 AM and that supervisor uses at 7:46 AM when the alarm goes off. If a small business has any preparedness document, this is the one OSHA expects you to have on file — and the one your insurance carrier will ask for first after an incident. It is also the shortest plan to write, because it covers a narrow slice of events: fire, severe weather, active threat, hazardous-material release, and any situation where the right move is to leave the building in an orderly way.
What an EAP actually has to cover
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 is the standard. It requires a written plan, employee training, and a review whenever the workplace changes. The plan must include six procedures, in plain language. Most consultants bury these behind twenty pages of process — for a small team they fit on a single printable sheet pinned next to the fire panel.
The six required procedures
- How to report a fire or other emergency (one number, one phrase: "pull alarm, dial 911, then call the floor warden").
- Evacuation policy and route — primary exit, secondary exit, and the rally point at least 50 feet from the building.
- Procedures for employees who remain to operate critical operations before they shut down (most small businesses can write this as "everyone leaves; no one stays").
- Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation — headcount at the rally point by supervisor, missing names escalated to the incident commander.
- Procedures to be followed by employees performing rescue or medical duties — first-aid/CPR certified staff only, never a bystander with scissors.
- The name and job title of the person who can be contacted for more information about the plan (usually the owner, the ops lead, or a hired safety coordinator).
A floor plan that actually works
Get a one-line drawing of your space — walls, doors, the alarm pull stations, the AED, the fire extinguisher locations, the two exits, and the rally-point marker across the street. Print it at 11"x17". Hang one next to every exit and one in the break room. New employees take a five-minute walk-through with their supervisor on Day 1; HR keeps the signed walkthrough log. This is the entire review process OSHA wants — no binder, no binder index, no binder audit.
Drill cadence and the test that matters
OSHA requires drills "whenever the plan is initially introduced" and "whenever responsibilities or procedures change." For a small business that means a real evacuation walk-through twice a year, plus one announced tabletop once a year where the floor wardens practice calling the headcount and the missing-person escalation. The test that matters: time from alarm to all-clear at the rally point. If it takes more than six minutes for a single-floor office, the plan is fiction. If it takes less than three, the plan is probably rehearsed.
Common gaps on the first draft
- A secondary exit that goes through a locked stockroom — every exit has to be unlocked from the inside during business hours.
- A "muster point" at a parking spot that disappears when the dumpster is moved — pick a permanent landmark.
- Floor wardens with day-job duties that conflict with the warden role — assign a deputy, never a single point of failure.
- No procedure for visitors and contractors — visitor log on evacuation is the unblocker for the headcount.
When to write your own vs. buying a template
If your business occupies one floor, has fewer than 50 employees, and your local fire code does not require anything jurisdiction-specific, an editable EAP template is the right starting point. Customize it for your space, your exits, your warden names, and your alarm vendor. Reissue once a year, even if nothing changed — the act of reviewing it surfaces assumptions that have rotted. The companion Continuity Plan and Crisis Communication Plan cover what happens after the evacuation; without all three, you have a fire drill with no follow-through.