What type of content is Emergency Response Guide?

It is essentially a practical guidance content with both public and tool attributes. Its core function is to help different audiences save the cost of self-judgment and trial and error in sudden risk scenarios, and by following it, the harm can be minimized.

Don’t think that only a thick volume issued by the government or an enterprise can be called an emergency response guide. The self-rescue tips for trapped people in elevators posted in your apartment building, the emergency handling points for food delivery in heavy rains issued by take-out sites to riders, and even the instructions listed in the instructions for buying oral allergy medicine to “stop taking the medicine and seek medical attention immediately if you have difficulty breathing after taking the medicine” are essentially simplified emergency response guides, and there is definitely nothing wrong with classifying them as practical tools.

However, the industry has always had different views on its subdivision and classification. Most colleagues who do public science popularization will classify it as a popular science content. After all, if a guide for the general public only lists the steps without explaining the reasons, many people will not take it seriously at all. When we made a home fire emergency guide for the community two years ago, we specifically added the principle behind "Don't take the elevator to escape" to the principle that elevators are prone to power outages and jamming during fires, and can also become chimneys that accumulate toxic smoke. Later, the community reported that 30% more people followed the instructions than in the version that only listed the steps. Once everyone knew why they were doing this, their execution ability naturally improved.

However, most friends who are engaged in industrial production, government and enterprise operation and maintenance do not agree with this classification. They prefer to classify emergency response guides into professional tools such as standardized operating procedures. When I went to a coastal chemical park to do safety research, I had seen their emergency guide for hazardous chemical leaks. The order of each operation, even the type of protective tools to use, and the number of meters upwind or downwind were all very accurate. There was no superfluous explanation. After all, in that scenario, a second of delay could cause serious problems. All operators only need to strictly follow the procedures, and there is no need to additionally understand the chemical principles behind it.

To put it bluntly, both classifications are correct, but the audience and usage scenarios are different. Just like the emergency kit you prepare at home, if it is for the elderly and children, you must put a small note clearly explaining how and when to use each item. If it is for professionally trained emergency personnel, it only needs to be prepared according to the list. No matter how the form changes, the core of the emergency guide will always be "it can be used in an emergency, and it will be effective once used." Other classifications actually serve this core goal.