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Emergency Action Plan Builder

A free tool for schools

Build your school’s Emergency Action Plan

Fill in your venues, your people, your equipment, and your heat rules. Then download a finished plan with your school’s name on it, ready to post, share, and rehearse.

Cool First. Transport Second.

In an emergency, call 911. This tool is for planning and education. It does not replace medical advice. Medical steps should be reviewed and approved by your team physician or medical director.
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School

Your school’s name goes on every page of your plan.

Venues

Add every field, gym, track, practice area, and band lot. Emergency crews need the exact address and the gate they should use.

Activities

Every venue and every activity needs a written plan. Check each activity that uses this venue and is covered by this plan.

Activities covered by this plan
The plan is

People and roles

Name a person and a backup for every role. Write in names, not just titles.

Athletic trainer

Training and coverage

Equipment

Everything on this list is at the venue, ready, and checked before activity begins. Not in a storage room across campus.

Equipment at every venue

Heat conditions

Check heat conditions on site before every practice and game, and keep checking during activity. Decide ahead of time what changes at each level, and move to the stricter level as soon as the reading goes up.

Heat measurement used

Wet bulb globe temperature is the preferred measure. It counts sun, wind, and humidity. The heat index is measured in the shade and can read low in full sun. Use the measure your state association requires.

Some state associations, such as Georgia, Texas, and Iowa, require a reading before practice and every 30 minutes during it. Follow your state's rule.

Our activity modification thresholds (set with your medical team)

The five levels below follow published athletic trainer guidance. Every reading is left blank on purpose. Enter the reading where each level begins from your state association’s heat chart, and confirm it with your medical team. For background, see the National Athletic Trainers’ Association position statement on exertional heat illnesses. To plan ahead, check the National Weather Service wet bulb globe temperature forecast and heat tools.

For example, the name of your state association's heat chart.
Before every practice and game

Heat stroke and cooling steps

Recognizing exertional heat stroke

Exertional heat stroke is a medical emergency. Warning signs include:

    When in doubt, treat it as heat stroke. An athlete may still be sweating and still be talking. Start cooling right away. Cooling does not wait for a diagnosis.

    One athlete down: Cool First, Transport Second

      Guideline to confirm with your medical director: widely published guidance for exertional heat stroke calls for cooling to start right away, ideally within 10 minutes of collapse, and for lowering core temperature to about 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius) within 30 minutes of collapse, before transport. Confirm your targets with your team physician or medical director.

      Medical steps should be reviewed and approved by your team physician or medical director.

      More than one athlete down

      Plan for this before it happens

      Most plans are written for one athlete. On the hottest days, more than one athlete can go down at the same practice or event. Decide now how you will cool two or three athletes at once, and rehearse it.

      Who cools each athlete

      Extra help

      When more than one athlete is down

        Getting ready

        Rehearsal plan

        Medical steps should be reviewed and approved by your team physician or medical director.

        Other emergencies and communication

        Lightning
        Cardiac arrest
        Head or neck injury
        Severe weather and other medical needs
        Communication
        After an incident

        Annual review and sign-off

        Who signs this plan

        Enter names now. Signatures and dates go on the printed plan.

        Download your plan

        Your plan is created on this device with your school’s name on every page. Any blank you skip prints as a line you can fill in by hand. Post it at each venue, keep a signed copy in the athletic office, and share it with your local emergency medical services provider.

        National Stay Cool Day · Cool First. Transport Second. · NationalStayCoolDay.com