Retail Store Emergency Procedures Checklist

The manager-on-duty (MOD) or shift lead picks the category that matches what is happening on the sales floor right now. The selection routes the run to the correct response section. If two categories apply (fire after an earthquake, medical event during severe weather), pick the more immediate life-safety threat first and run the second category afterward.

Pulling the station triggers the building alarm and, in most jurisdictions with a monitored panel, automatic dispatch. Do not attempt to fight a fire larger than a wastebasket — even a trained associate with an ABC extinguisher should not stay in the building if smoke obscures the ceiling.

Even if the monitored panel auto-dispatches, the MOD confirms by phone from outside. Give the dispatcher the store address (including suite/unit), nearest cross street, sprinkler/standpipe status if known, and whether all occupants are accounted for.

Associates direct customers to the nearest exit shown on the posted egress map — do not send everyone to the front door. Stockroom and back-of-house staff use the rear egress. Leave registers open; do not stop to count cash, lock the safe, or collect personal items.

Wheelchair users, customers with strollers, and anyone in the fitting rooms get an assigned associate. Do not use elevators. If the store has a multi-story layout, move mobility-impaired occupants to the designated area of rescue assistance at the stairwell landing and report the location to 911.

Give the dispatcher the store address, the department or aisle, whether the person is conscious and breathing, and any visible bleeding or chest-pain symptoms. Send an associate to the entrance to flag down EMS — strip-mall and big-box addresses are commonly missed.

Associates with current Red Cross / American Heart CPR or first-aid certification perform CPR, control bleeding, or deploy the AED if the store has one. Untrained associates do not improvise — clear the area, keep the customer comfortable, and wait for EMS.

Use a fitting-room curtain, signage, or a fixture to screen the patient from the rest of the floor — both for dignity and to keep other shoppers from filming. Close the affected department's gates if your store has them.

Photograph the area before anything is moved (spill, broken fixture, displaced product). Record names and phone numbers of any witnesses willing to be contacted. CCTV footage for the affected camera should be preserved per the LP retention SOP — do not let the DVR overwrite the segment.

Pull the current alert from NWS, your local emergency-management app, or the corporate weather-service feed. A watch (conditions favorable) is different from a warning (event imminent or occurring). Tornado warning, severe-thunderstorm warning with confirmed wind speed, and flash-flood warning each trigger different in-store actions.

Move customers and staff to the interior shelter location on the posted plan — typically a windowless interior stockroom, restroom, or hallway on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass storefronts, skylights, and large-span roof areas. Do not let customers leave during a tornado warning, even if they insist.

Lock entry doors, bring in sidewalk signs, sandwich boards, and patio displays. Close any roll-down gates. For hurricane-track stores, deploy storm shutters or pre-cut plywood per the location's hurricane plan.

Check the breaker panel and neighboring storefronts. A single-circuit trip is a breaker reset; an entire-building outage requires calling the utility (and, in a strip center, the property manager). Note utility outage ticket number if filed.

Emergency egress lighting should activate automatically. Hand flashlights to associates stationed at each department to guide customers; do not let customers wander the floor in the dark — slip-and-fall risk and shoplifting opportunity both spike.

If the POS is on UPS battery backup, gracefully shut it down before the battery drains — a hard crash mid-transaction corrupts the day's journal. Disconnect non-essential equipment so a power-restoration surge does not damage it. Keep refrigeration and the alarm panel on backup.

The MOD calls the district manager. Most chains require closure if the outage exceeds 30 minutes, the POS cannot process EMV transactions, or emergency lighting is inadequate. Cash-only operation is rarely permitted because of PCI and audit-trail concerns.

Run, Hide, Fight per DHS/CISA guidance. Leave belongings behind, keep hands visible, and run in a zig-zag pattern away from the threat. Get customers and associates out through the rear stockroom egress if the front is compromised — do not stop to lock up.

Stockroom, office, or back-of-house with a lockable door. Barricade with fixtures or furniture. Silence phones (do not just vibrate). Spread out — do not cluster in one corner. Turn off lights. Stay quiet until law enforcement physically opens the door and identifies themselves.

Once hidden, call or text 911 (text-to-911 is available in many jurisdictions). Give location, number of shooters if known, description, weapons, and number of potential victims. Stay on the line silently if you cannot speak.

If life is in imminent danger and escape and hiding are not possible, commit fully — use fire extinguishers, fixture parts, or anything heavy. Aim for incapacitation, not negotiation. Do not engage if any other option exists.

Phone call, not Slack — the DM, regional, and corporate store-operations on-call need a verbal brief within 30 minutes of the all-clear. Follow up with a written summary in the corporate incident tool. Loss Prevention and Risk Management are looped in for any injury, theft, or property damage.

Most DVR/NVR systems overwrite on a 30-90 day rolling buffer. Export the relevant cameras for at least 30 minutes before and after the incident, save to the LP shared drive, and flag the segment as retained. For police investigations, do not delete or edit — provide the export on request.

Narrative covers what happened, when, who was involved, what response actions were taken, and any property damage or injury. Customer-injury claims also need the carrier's claim form (Sedgwick, Gallagher Bassett, etc.) within the timeframe in your corporate risk SOP — typically 24 hours.