Look at any news footage from a natural disaster and you’ll see them—convenience store operators who, often with little thought to their own comfort, provide food, shelter, fuel and water to displaced residents, first responders and families sheltering in place. “Convenience stores are often the first place the public goes to immediately before and after storms,” said Craig Fugate, former administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “But these retailers can only be that first line of defense in natural disasters if they’re open.”

A Piece of the Whole

Convenience stores are an integral part of what Fugate labels as “the whole community” that comes together when natural disaster strikes. The whole community consists of individuals and families, businesses, faith-based and community organizations, nonprofit groups, schools and academia, media and all levels of government. “The federal, state and local governments have key roles and responsibilities, but government by itself is not going to be as effective as the community as the whole,” Fugate said. “In times of disaster, FEMA has always struggled with getting supplies to the last mile. With convenience stores even closer than the last mile, these retailers become the closest place for first responders and local residents to get fuel and supplies.”

But convenience stores can only be a strong part of the whole community if the stores themselves are prepared for emergencies. “Customers remember your service and availability both before and after emergencies,” Fugate said. “Retailers need to remember that they’re the last station residents will stop at when evacuating and the first gas station most people can get to when the storm ends.”

Stores that get open and serve their communities directly after a disaster are the ones most likely to survive the disaster’s impact.

To assist retailers in developing a plan to weather emergencies, NACS developed an emergency preparedness program with support from the National Institute for Hometown Security through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aid resources help convenience stores identify and enhance their resiliency as they plan, prepare and recover from a disaster.

Planning for Emergencies

What’s the hardest thing about planning for an emergency? Getting started. That’s where the NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aid resources come in—to make the process easy and effective, so retailers can focus on helping their communities.

“Many retailers already have plans in place, and for those, I encourage them to update and review those plans,” Fugate said. “For those who haven’t thought about a plan, use these tools to devise one. Keep in mind those stores that get open and serve their communities directly after a disaster are the ones most likely to survive the disaster’s impact.”

NACS based the guides on research about what convenience stores had and didn’t have for emergency planning. “Convenience stores are a unique environment because many stores never close,” Fugate said. “We took that into account when developing these best practices.”

The guides have two distinct parts: Emergency Planning and Job Aid Evaluation. The Emergency Planning section focuses on how companies can get ready for emergencies, including what policies, procedures, systems, resources and training should be in place. The Job Aid Evaluation emphasizes what action store managers and employees should take at the store level, including preparations, cautions, actions, protections and responsibilities.

“These resources are designed to help convenience retailers quickly and efficiently determine the best course of action for their teams to plan for an emergency such as a hurricane, or bring their stores back into operation after events that happen with little to no warning, like a tornado or earthquake,” said Carolyn Schnare, NACS director of strategic initiatives. “After curating emergency plans and insights from our convenience industry community, we developed useful and practical resources that retailers can adapt for their own businesses.”

NACS offers two versions of the program—one that’s free to anyone and one that’s available for NACS members only. The free edition has the Emergency Planning guide and the Emergency Job Aids and allows for customization only by removing any Job Aid pages that aren’t applicable to that particular company.

The NACS members-only version gives companies a wider ability to customize, such as adding the store name and logo to the Job Aids and personalizing individual Job Aids to fit the company or even single locations within a chain.

“The purpose of the Job Aids is to protect your customers and employees, to keep your store open longer during a disaster and to resume operations as soon as it’s safe,” Fugate said. He recommended the Job Aids be used for onboarding, refresher and immediate training purposes. Retailers should check with their local, state and federal government to ensure compliance with any laws or regulations.

Getting Down to Business

What exactly do the Job Aids cover? The short answer is a wide variety of situations related to the store itself and the people who run it. For example, one section deals with how employees can protect themselves and their families. “We know our employees won’t feel safe at work if they don’t think their families are safe, so we included checklists the staff can follow at home,” Fugate explained.

Another Job Aid focuses on store evacuation or shelter-in-place. “Sometimes, retailers have a choice: Evacuate the store or keep people there,” he said. “Other times, local police or fire departments mandate evacuation or close roads, necessitating staying at the store for the duration of the emergency.”

For 24/7 locations, procedures to close a store are vital to ensure the business is protected—and will be ready to open when the emergency ends. “Reopening the store begins with how you close the store,” Fugate pointed out. This Job Aid tackles the categories of finances, technology, property and inventory to facilitate a smooth closure and reopen.

Retailers are the last station residents will stop at when evacuating and the first gas station most people can get to when the storm ends.

One thing Fugate sees a lot of businesses neglect to do is scheduling an annual emergency plan review, which is included in the Job Aids section. “I recommend doing this first, even if you don’t have an official emergency preparedness plan because you’ll see immediately what needs to be done,” he said. “Then once a year, go back through the Emergency Job Aids Annual Review checklist as you walk the store. It’s a great way to take a look at your store’s emergency plan and to see visually how it will play out.”

Because convenience store operators are pressed for time, NACS developed a set of short preparedness videos designed to take viewers through six different areas: Evacuate Now!, Shelter-in-Place, Stay Open in Emergency, Close the Store, Get Back to Work and Open the Store. These videos provide key content in short segments and are intended for employees who have an immediate need to prepare and/or recover from a situation.

Working Together

Planning for how your company will handle emergencies is essential, but it’s also important to work with other retailers, associations, groups and governments to help your area weather storms better. “If other stores aren’t getting open, that can make your own store fail,” Fugate said. “Being the only store able to function during a disaster isn’t healthy for your store, your employees or your customers.”

After getting your own plan in place, contact area retailers to see how you could work together as a team during an emergency. “It’s much better to build those relationships ahead of time, especially with local agencies, law enforcement, government and competing convenience stores to have a sense of how you can assist each other in the area’s evacuation, shelter-in-place and recovery efforts,” he said. “When more emergency personnel understand what a convenience store needs to serve the community in terms of fuel, food, ice and water, for example, the more those first responders can help get your store open after a disaster.”

No matter where you are in planning for emergencies—just starting out or well on your way—the tools in the NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aids will be invaluable to retailers of all shapes and sizes. “Convenience stores are vital to their local communities, even more so during times of disaster, but only if they can function safely,” Fugate said.