Part of the risk assessment procedure when organising an outdoor activity is to think about what could possibly go wrong. This should include the possibility of having to be evacuated, possibly due to injury or other events such as bushfires.
It is important to plan for ‘escape routes’, those points on the trip where there is access to roads to meet emergency services or even clearings for helicopters. This can be a valuable activity to be done as a group in the planning stages to have everyone involved and becoming familiar with these procedures.
Once these escape points have been established, creating an easy to carry, laminated copy of the plan should be made. This can include a map of the route and a grid reference of the points. This can be very useful when dealing with emergency services and can save time in an emergency. A copy should be given to each member of the group.
Training for evacuations should also be carried out prior to embarking on a trip. This can involve basic first aid training, creating stretchers to carry injured people and simulating phone calls to emergency services to ensure that accurate information is given.