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Emergency action plan for construction sites
The emergency plan for one construction site, filled in on a phone and kept with the job. It records the access points (with GPS for the emergency vehicle gate), the emergency contacts and the location to give the dispatcher, how the alarm is raised and what each signal means, evacuation routes and muster points with GPS and photos, the critical operations to stop before leaving, roll call, what to do in each emergency (fire, medical, structural collapse, trench collapse, utility strike, severe weather, hazardous release) and who leads, rescue arrangements, the nearest hospital with directions, first aid and AED points, and a drill log with the time to muster. It sits alongside the site-specific safety plan; for a building in use rather than a site, use the fire evacuation plan template.
For superintendents, site managers and safety managers at general contractors and trade contractors who need an emergency plan for each construction site, and want it written for that site rather than copied from the last one.
Written around OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.35 and 1926.50 for US sites. In Great Britain the form also covers CDM 2015 regulation 30 (emergency procedures, familiar to everyone and tested) and regulation 31 (emergency routes and exits to an identified safe area, kept clear and signed).
- Access points and muster points with GPS and photos, flagged if no emergency vehicle access is listed
- Alarm signals by meaning, and a check that the alarm is heard in every work area
- Seven common site emergencies, each with what to do and who leads
- Rescue arrangements linked to the confined space and work at height rescue plans, with any still being prepared counted
- Drill log with time to muster against your own target and the lessons learned
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What should a construction emergency action plan include?
A construction emergency plan works when it fits the site as it is this week: the gate a fire truck can actually use, an alarm that can be heard on the top floor over the nail guns, a muster point out of the crane swing, and a roll call that includes the delivery drivers. Revise it each time the building changes shape, and prove it with a drill.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 27 October 2026 against 29 CFR 1926.35, Employee emergency action plans (eCFR), 29 CFR 1926.50, Medical services and first aid (eCFR), Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 30, emergency procedures and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 31, emergency routes and exits.
How to write a construction emergency action plan
Write it before work starts, walk the routes, and revise it when the building changes shape or after a drill.
Site and access
Enter the site, the employer, the workforce, the location to give the dispatcher and each access point with its GPS position, marking the emergency vehicle access.
Contacts and alarm
List the emergency contacts and where the numbers are posted. Record how the alarm is raised, what each signal means and whether it is heard everywhere people work.
Routes and muster points
Add each muster point with GPS and a photo, then the routes from each area or floor. Note the critical operations to stop before leaving and who helps others out.
Roll call and emergencies
Say how people are accounted for and what happens if someone is missing. Tick the emergencies that apply and write what to do and who leads for each.
Rescue and medical
Record the rescue arrangements and their plan references, the nearest hospital with directions, the first aiders and where the first aid kits and AED are.
Drills and sign-off
Log each drill with the time to muster against your target and what you changed. Record any actions and sign the plan.
What makes a construction emergency plan work
Drill log: minutes until everyone was accounted for, your target, and what you changed
Four-story hotel in Spokane, drill 14 Oct, fire scenario, 58 on site. Everyone counted in 11 minutes against a 6-minute target. Floors 1 to 3 out in 5 minutes; four framers on floor 4 did not hear the air horn. Change: air horn on the floor 4 landing, foremen on radio channel 2, drivers sign in at Gate 3.
Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.
A common recording mistake
Writing the plan at the groundworks stage and never updating it, so the muster point ends up under the crane swing and the evacuation route still runs through a stair that has since been closed off.
What happens next
Brief the plan at every new worker's orientation, post the dispatcher location and hospital route where people can see them, and run a drill at each new phase.
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Every question in the construction emergency action plan template
An emergency action plan for one construction site: site and access points with GPS, emergency contacts and the location to give the dispatcher, how the alarm is raised and what each signal means, evacuation routes and muster points with GPS and photos, critical operations before leaving, roll call, the emergencies covered (fire, medical, structural collapse, trench collapse, utility strike, severe weather, hazardous release) with what to do and who leads, rescue arrangements, the nearest hospital and directions, first aid and AED points, plan reviews, a drill log with time to muster and lessons, actions and sign-off. Written around 29 CFR 1926.35 and 1926.50, with the CDM 2015 regulation 30 and 31 points for Great Britain. 10 sections and 148 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Owner or client: the project's customer
Site and access
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Owner or clientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Plan date*Date
- Plan prepared by*Short answer
- Employer writing this plan*Short answer
Usually the general contractor or principal contractor.
- Type of projectChoose one
- New commercial
- New residential, multi-family
- New residential, single-family
- Renovation or tenant improvement
- Civil or site work
- Other
- Site and work*Notes
What is being built, stories, phases, the areas people work in.
- Most people expected on site at once*Number
- Plan revisionShort answer
For example Rev 1, updated for steel erection.
- GuidanceWhat this plan is for. Where an OSHA standard requires an emergency action plan, 29 CFR 1926.35 sets the minimum: escape procedures and route assignments, procedures for anyone who stays to run critical operations before they leave, accounting for everyone after evacuation, rescue and medical duties, the preferred way to report fires and other emergencies, and the names or job titles of people to contact. The plan is written and kept on site; an employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate it orally (1926.35(e)(3)). Filling in this plan does not make anyone compliant; practising it does the work.
- CheckWith 10 or fewer employees the plan may be given orally (1926.35(e)(3)). Writing it down still gives you something to brief from and show the owner.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- GuidanceIn Great Britain, CDM 2015 regulation 30 asks for suitable and sufficient arrangements for any foreseeable emergency, including evacuation, that everyone knows them and that they are tested at suitable intervals; regulation 31 asks for emergency routes and exits that lead as directly as possible to an identified safe area, kept clear and signed. This form covers those points too.
- Location to give the emergency dispatcher*Short answer
Street address, the gate to use, and latitude and longitude.
- Site access pointsRepeat for each access point. Each one asks:
- Access point*Short answer
For example Gate 1, Elm Street.
- UseChoose one
- Emergency vehicle access
- Main pedestrian gate
- Deliveries gate
- Secondary exit
- Other
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Locked out of hours? Who holds the key or codeShort answer
- Photo of the access pointPhotos
- Access points listedWorked out by the form
- Emergency vehicle access pointsWorked out by the form
- WarningNo emergency vehicle access is listed. Mark where a fire truck or ambulance gets onto the site.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Emergency contacts
- Is 911 (or the local emergency number) available at this site?*Yes or No
- GuidanceWhere 911 is used and the phone system does not send the caller's latitude and longitude, post the site's latitude and longitude or other clear location details where people can see them (29 CFR 1926.50(f)(2)).Shown when “Is 911 (or the local emergency number) available at this site?” is Yes
- WarningWhere 911 is not available, post the phone numbers of the physicians, hospitals or ambulances where people can see them (29 CFR 1926.50(f)(1)). List them below.Shown when “Is 911 (or the local emergency number) available at this site?” is No
- Emergency number to call*Short answer
- Where the emergency numbers and site location are posted*Short answer
- Emergency contactsRepeat for each contact. Each one asks:
- Role*Choose one
- Emergency coordinator
- Deputy coordinator
- Superintendent
- Safety manager
- First aider
- Owner representative
- Gas utility emergency line
- Electric utility emergency line
- Water utility
- Fire department (non-emergency)
- Police (non-emergency)
- Other
- Name or organization*Short answer
- Phone*Short answer
- When availableShort answer
For example on site 6:30 to 4:30, 24 hours.
- Contacts listedWorked out by the form
- Photo of the posted emergency informationPhotos
Raising the alarm
- GuidanceThe employer sets up an employee alarm system; where the alarm is used for more than one purpose, each purpose has a distinctive signal (29 CFR 1926.35(c)). The plan states the preferred way to report fires and other emergencies (1926.35(b)(5)).
- How the alarm is raised*Tick all that apply
- Air horn
- Siren
- Site bell or sounder
- Two-way radio call
- Phone or text group
- Public address
- Verbal, by foremen
- Other
- Signals and what they meanRepeat for each signal. Each one asks:
- Meaning*Choose one
- Evacuate the site
- Evacuate one area
- Shelter in place
- All clear
- Other
- Signal*Short answer
For example three long blasts on the air horn.
- How anyone reports a fire or other emergency*Notes
Who they tell, by what means, and who calls 911.
- Where the alarm is kept or raised fromShort answer
- Who can raise the alarmShort answer
- Alarm heard in every work area, including upper floors, stair towers and inside buildings*Choose one
- Ready
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Where it is not heard, and what will be doneNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Alarm last testedDate
Evacuation routes and muster points
- GuidanceThe plan sets the types of evacuation to be used (29 CFR 1926.35(d)) and the escape routes assigned (1926.35(b)(1)). In Great Britain, emergency routes lead as directly as possible to an identified safe area, are kept clear and are signed (CDM 2015 reg 31).
- Types of evacuation used on this site*Tick all that apply
- Full site evacuation
- Partial: one area, floor or building
- Shelter in place (for example severe weather)
- Move away from a hazard to a safe distance (for example gas leak)
- Muster pointsRepeat for each muster point. Each one asks:
- Muster point*Short answer
For example Muster point A, east parking lot.
- TypeChoose one
- Primary
- Alternate
- Shelter-in-place area
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- How to find itNotes
What it is next to, sign on it.
- People it can holdNumber
- Who checks people in hereShort answer
- Signed, clear of traffic and falling-object zones, away from the building*Choose one
- Ready
- Action needed
- Not checked
- What needs doingNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Photo of the muster point and its signPhotos
- Evacuation routesRepeat for each route. Each one asks:
- From (area or floor)*Short answer
- To muster point*Short answer
- Route*Notes
Stairs, ramps, gates and the way across the site.
- Alternate route if blockedShort answer
- Clear, signed and lit where needed*Choose one
- Ready
- Action needed
- Not checked
- What needs doingNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Photo of the routePhotos
- Muster pointsWorked out by the form
- RoutesWorked out by the form
- Muster points needing actionWorked out by the form
- Routes needing actionWorked out by the form
- Critical operations before leaving, and who does them*Notes
For example crane operator lands the load, hot work stopped and the torch shut off, concrete pump stopped. Write "None" if there are none (1926.35(b)(2)).
- People designated and trained to help evacuation*Short answer
Names or roles, for example floor sweepers on each level (1926.35(e)(1)).
- People who may need help to leave, and who helps themNotes
- Walk Cam: walk the evacuation routeWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film a guided walk-round on the SiteSurvey app.
Roll call
- GuidanceThe plan sets out how everyone is accounted for after evacuation (29 CFR 1926.35(b)(3)).
- How people are accounted for*Choose one
- Daily sign-in sheet
- Badge or card system
- Foreman headcount by crew
- Electronic or app sign-in
- Other
- MethodShort answerShown when “How people are accounted for” is “Other”
- Who takes the roll call*Short answer
- Who brings the sign-in record to the muster pointShort answer
- How visitors, delivery drivers and inspectors are accounted forNotes
- If someone is missing*Notes
Who is told, what the fire department is told, and that nobody goes back in to search.
Emergencies covered
- GuidanceTick each emergency that could happen on this site. For each one, write what people do and who leads. The steps are yours: write them for this site.
- Emergencies this plan covers*Tick all that apply
- Fire
- Medical emergency or serious injury
- Structural collapse (formwork, scaffold, partial structure)
- Trench or excavation collapse
- Utility strike (gas, electric, water)
- Severe weather (lightning, high wind, tornado, flood)
- Hazardous material release or spill
- Fire: what to do*Notes
For example: Raise the alarm, evacuate by the routes in this plan, call the fire department, meet them at the emergency vehicle access.
Shown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Fire” - Fire: who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Fire”
- Medical emergency or serious injury: what to do*Notes
For example: First aider attends, call 911 (or the posted number), someone meets the ambulance at the gate.
Shown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Medical emergency or serious injury” - Medical emergency or serious injury: who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Medical emergency or serious injury”
- Structural collapse (formwork, scaffold, partial structure): what to do*NotesShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Structural collapse (formwork, scaffold, partial structure)”
- Structural collapse (formwork, scaffold, partial structure): who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Structural collapse (formwork, scaffold, partial structure)”
- Trench or excavation collapse: what to do*Notes
For example: Do not let untrained people enter the trench to rescue. Call 911 and say it is a trench collapse.
Shown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Trench or excavation collapse” - Trench or excavation collapse: who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Trench or excavation collapse”
- WarningUtility strike. If excavation damages a pipeline, the excavator promptly reports it to the pipeline operator whether or not it leaks (49 CFR 196.107); if gas or hazardous liquid is released, call 911 (196.109).Shown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Utility strike (gas, electric, water)”
- Utility strike (gas, electric, water): what to do*NotesShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Utility strike (gas, electric, water)”
- Utility strike (gas, electric, water): who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Utility strike (gas, electric, water)”
- Severe weather (lightning, high wind, tornado, flood): what to do*NotesShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Severe weather (lightning, high wind, tornado, flood)”
- Severe weather (lightning, high wind, tornado, flood): who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Severe weather (lightning, high wind, tornado, flood)”
- Hazardous material release or spill: what to do*NotesShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Hazardous material release or spill”
- Hazardous material release or spill: who leads*Short answerShown when “Emergencies this plan covers” includes “Hazardous material release or spill”
- Other emergenciesRepeat for each emergency. Each one asks:
- Emergency*Short answer
- What to do*Notes
- Who leadsShort answer
- Emergencies coveredWorked out by the form
Rescue arrangements
- GuidanceThe plan names the rescue and medical duties and who does them (29 CFR 1926.35(b)(4)). For the detail, use the confined space rescue plan and the work at height rescue plan forms for each task, and record the reference here.
- Rescue arrangementsRepeat for each rescue. Each one asks:
- Rescue need*Choose one
- Confined space
- Work at height (fall arrest suspension)
- Trench or excavation
- Crane or aerial lift
- Water
- Other
- Where on siteShort answer
- Who rescues*Short answer
For example trained site team, contracted rescue service, fire department (confirm they can respond).
- Rescue equipment and where it isShort answer
- Rescue plan referenceShort answer
For example the confined space rescue plan or work at height rescue plan for this task.
- Status*Choose one
- In place on site
- Being prepared
- Not needed yet
- In place byDateShown when “Status” is “Being prepared”
- Rescue arrangementsWorked out by the form
- Still being preparedWorked out by the form
Hospital, first aid and AED
- GuidanceArrange prompt medical attention for serious injury before the project starts (29 CFR 1926.50(b)). Where no clinic, hospital or physician is reasonably accessible in time and distance, a person with a valid first-aid certificate is available on site (1926.50(c)). First aid kits are checked before going to each job and at least weekly on each job (1926.50(d)(2)). Provide transport for the injured or a way to call an ambulance (1926.50(e)).
- Nearest hospital emergency department*Short answer
- Hospital address*Short answer
- Distance (miles)Number
- Drive time (minutes)Number
- Directions from the site gate*Notes
- Map of the routePhotos
- Occupational clinic for non-emergency injuriesShort answer
- Who meets the ambulance or fire truck at the gate*Short answer
- First-aid and CPR trained people on site*Short answer
Names, company, and when their certificates expire.
- First aid, AED and emergency equipmentRepeat for each item. Each one asks:
- What*Choose one
- First aid kit
- AED (defibrillator)
- Eyewash or drench
- Fire extinguisher
- Spill kit
- Stretcher or rescue kit
- Other
- Where*Short answer
- Location (GPS)Short answer
- Last checkedDate
- Condition*Choose one
- Ready
- Action needed
- Not checked
- What needs doingNotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- PhotoPhotos
- Items listedWorked out by the form
- Needing actionWorked out by the form
Plan reviews and drills
- GuidanceReview the plan with each employee when it is first made, when their duties under it change, and when the plan changes, and on first assignment cover the parts they must know (29 CFR 1926.35(e)). In Great Britain, test the arrangements by putting them into effect at suitable intervals (CDM 2015 reg 30(3)). You set the drill frequency and the muster target.
- The plan is briefed to workers*Tick all that apply
- At site orientation for every new worker
- When the plan changes
- When someone's duties under it change
- At toolbox talks
- When a new phase starts (for example steel, roofing)
- How often drills are held*Short answer
- Drill logRepeat for each drill. Each one asks:
- Drill date*Date
- Scenario*Choose one
- Fire, full evacuation
- Medical emergency
- Severe weather, shelter in place
- Utility strike
- Rescue
- Other
- Alarm raised atTime
- People on site*Number
- Minutes until everyone was accounted for*Number
- Target minutes (yours)*Number
- People not accounted for at the first countNumber
- ResultWorked out by the form
- What went well and what did not*Notes
- Change made as a resultShort answer
- Drill led byShort answer
- Drills loggedWorked out by the form
- Slower than targetWorked out by the form
Actions and sign-off
- Items needing actionWorked out by the form
- ResultWorked out by the form
- ActionsRepeat for each action. Each one asks:
- Action*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Immediately
- Before the next phase
- This week
- At the next plan review
- Who will do it*Short answer
- Due byDate
- Status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Done, checked
- Photo when donePhotosShown when “Status” is “Done, checked”
- Actions still openWorked out by the form
- Decision*Choose one
- Plan issued for use on site
- Issued: finish the listed actions
- Not ready: review before work continues
- Next check or re-inspection dateDate
- alarm_actionWorked out by the form
- ev_missingWorked out by the form
- Review the plan whenShort answer
For example each new phase, a new building enclosed, after any drill or real emergency.
- Summary for the clientNotes
- Plan prepared by nameShort answer
- Plan prepared by signature*Signature
- Superintendent or project manager nameShort answer
- Superintendent or project manager signatureSignature
See it filled in
A completed construction emergency action plan report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Construction emergency action plan FAQs
Does OSHA require an emergency action plan on every construction site?
29 CFR 1926.35 applies to emergency action plans required by a particular OSHA standard, and sets what such a plan must contain. Separately, 1926.50(b) requires provisions for prompt medical attention in case of serious injury before the project starts. Many owners and general contractors also ask for an emergency plan in the contract. Check which standards apply to your work; this form covers the 1926.35 elements either way.
Sources: 29 CFR 1926.35, Employee emergency action plans (eCFR) and 29 CFR 1926.50, Medical services and first aid (eCFR).
Does the plan have to be written down?
Under 1926.35 the plan is in writing, kept at the workplace and available for employees to review. An employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally instead. A written plan is still easier to brief from, and the form gives you a PDF report and a link you can share with the owner or a subcontractor.
Source: 29 CFR 1926.35, Employee emergency action plans (eCFR).
What do we post for the 911 dispatcher?
Where 911 is used and the phone system does not automatically send the caller's latitude and longitude, 1926.50(f)(2) asks the employer to post the worksite's latitude and longitude, or other location information that tells people where the site is, in a conspicuous place. Where 911 is not available, post the numbers of the physicians, hospitals or ambulances (1926.50(f)(1)). The form records the location to give the dispatcher and where it is posted.
Source: 29 CFR 1926.50, Medical services and first aid (eCFR).
How often should we run an evacuation drill?
1926.35 asks for the plan to be reviewed with each employee when it is first made, when their duties under it change and when the plan changes, but does not set a drill interval. In Great Britain, CDM 2015 regulation 30(3) asks that the arrangements are tested by being put into effect at suitable intervals. You set the frequency and the muster target in the form, and the drill log shows when a drill was slower than your target.
Sources: 29 CFR 1926.35, Employee emergency action plans (eCFR) and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 30, emergency procedures.
Can I use this plan on a UK site?
Yes. The form also covers CDM 2015 regulation 30, which asks for suitable and sufficient arrangements for any foreseeable emergency, including evacuation, and regulation 31, which asks for emergency routes and exits that lead as directly as possible to an identified safe area, are kept clear and are signed. Record the arrangements in your construction phase plan as well.
Sources: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 30, emergency procedures and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 31, emergency routes and exits.
Does filling in this plan make our site compliant?
No. It writes down what people will do in an emergency on this site. What counts is that everyone knows it, the alarm is heard, the routes are clear and the drills work. The form keeps that record in one place with GPS positions and photos, and shows the actions still open.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the construction emergency action plan form
A written site-specific safety plan for one US construction job: project and contacts, competent persons by topic, each site hazard (falls, excavations, electrical, struck-by, caught-in, cranes, scaffolds, silica, heat, hazardous materials) with its controls, the programs it relies on, orientation and training, PPE, inspections with the frequencies you set, incident reporting and OSHA recordkeeping, subcontractor requirements, emergency information with the nearest hospital, actions and sign-off, and a worker acknowledgement.
Fire emergency plan for a building and a record of each drill: raising the alarm, escape routes, wardens, people who need help, evacuation time and actions.
A site-specific rescue planning record covering the space, credible emergencies, isolation, rescuers, communications, equipment readiness and practice.
A work-at-height rescue planning record linking credible scenarios, competent responders, approved methods, equipment readiness and briefing evidence.
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