kopik
Create
HR & employment

Workplace Emergency Action Plan: What OSHA Expects from Employers

An emergency action plan sets out what employers and employees do during fires and other emergencies. This page summarizes OSHA's guidance on building one, from minimum content to evacuation and training.

Ask your question

Free account required

Each question stands alone · 1 free a month, then with a subscription.

Answers are written by a language model solely from this base's documents, with numbered sources. They can be wrong and aren't legal, medical or financial advice: check the sources before any important decision.

Minimum content of the plan

Not every employer is required to have an emergency action plan, but OSHA recommends one either way, based on a hazard assessment and with one plan per worksite.

At a minimum, the plan must include a way to report fires and other emergencies, an evacuation policy and procedure, escape routes, contacts for more information, procedures for employees who shut down critical operations, and rescue and medical duties. Employers with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally.

Alarms, routes and evacuation wardens

Alarms must be distinctive and perceivable by everyone, including disabled workers. Evacuation routes should be clearly marked, well lit, wide enough and unobstructed, with primary and secondary options.

A coordinator with clear authority should lead the response, and one evacuation warden for every 20 employees is generally adequate. After evacuating, gather people in assembly areas and take a head count.

Frequently asked questions

How often should employees be trained on the plan?

OSHA suggests considering annual training, plus training when the plan is created, when new employees are hired, when new equipment or layout changes affect evacuation routes, and when procedures are updated.

Should untrained employees take part in rescues?

OSHA advises leaving rescue work to people who are trained, equipped and certified, since untrained rescuers may endanger themselves and others.

What medical arrangements should the plan cover?

Provide a written emergency medical procedure and, if no clinic or hospital is close by, make sure someone on site is trained in first aid. Treatment of a serious injury should begin within 3 to 4 minutes.

For developers and agents

Embed / API / MCP

Connect this base to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own app. Each API or MCP request costs €0.10, charged to your Kopik credit (not charged if nothing is found). You need an API key: create one from your dashboard.

MCP for your agents

This base's MCP server URL (tools ask_base and search_base):

MCP URL
https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business
Claude Code, Cursor and other clients
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http kopik-us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business" --header "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…"
JSON config (mcpServers)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kopik-us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business": {
      "url": "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer kpk_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

REST API for your apps

mode is "answer" (written answer + sources) or "passages" (raw passages only). Add an optional maxPriceCents to cap the price: if the base costs more, the call is refused and nothing is charged.

curl
curl -X POST https://kopik.io/api/v1/bases/us-workplace-safety-osha-small-business/query \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"question": "Your question here", "mode": "answer"}'

Getting started

  1. Create a key in your dashboard and top up your credit.
  2. Replace kpk_… with your key.
  3. Full details (responses, errors, JS and Python examples): developer docs.