Guide helps Nevada casinos plan for emergencies and threats

Nevada hotel-casinos are vulnerable to a variety of emergencies and threats.

To help state hotel-casinos prepare for almost anything, a special task force created by the Nevada Division of Emergency Management put together a general guide in 2018. It was revised in July 2019.

Most of the larger casinos on the Strip have had comprehensive emergency plans and top-flight security experts for years.

But former Nevada Emergency Management Chief Caleb Cage, who oversaw the task force, said the guide can be an important first step for many resorts.

“We wanted to provide a baseline for the resorts to use that would meet their business and operational needs,” he said.

The list of emergencies covered in the guide include:

— Active shooters.

— Fires

— Bomb threats

— Civil unrest

— Floods

— Earthquakes

— Mass casualties

— Mass communicable diseases

— Power outages

— Hazardous materials spills

— Water contamination

— Abductions

“Having a well-conceived emergency response plan, which is trained upon and rigorously tested, can save lives and protect property,” the guide explains.

The guide, listed on the emergency management division’s website, shows resorts how to prepare for emergencies within their properties and integrate first responders into their plans.

One of the keys to a successful plan is putting together what the division of emergency management calls a “grab and go package” for police and firefighters responding to an emergency.

These packages include first-aid items, radios, flashlights, locations and keys to elevators, staff rosters with phone numbers, sets of master keys, copies of evacuation plans and laminated maps of the properties.

The guide recommends the casinos participate in internal emergency exercises and full-scale exercises conducted by emergency management officials.

“The best plans are action oriented, concise and emphasize actions to protect visitors and employees,” the guide says.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter. German is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing. Support our journalism.