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Potential dangers will normally have been noticed during the regular surveys a church should be commissioning. From time to time, however, dangers emerge without warning. The following steps must then be taken:

As soon as the danger is noticed:

• Dial 999 and ask for the Fire Brigade. They will advise you to send someone to the site and alert the Police and Local Authority Dangerous Buildings Officer.
  
• Cordon off the area.
  
• Await instructions from the emergency services. When these are received, ensure that everyone involved knows the situation.
  

Within twenty four hours:

• Inform your Insurance Company. They will be aware of the public liability and will handle the situation professionally, involving loss adjusters, structural engineers, scaffolders, demolition teams etc. where necessary.
  
• Inform the Synod Office
  
• Inform the Synod Property Advisor
  
• Inform the Trustees
  
• and, if the building is listed or in a Conservation Area, inform the Synod Listed Buildings Advisory Committee.
  
• Appoint your own professional representative to liaise with the insurance Company. Such a representative should be a Quantity Surveyor, Architect or Structural Engineer who is fully qualified with the appropriate indemnity insurance. S/he will have the benefit of expertise to present your case to the insurers with the best effect.
  

Special Notes:

• In such situations the emergency services will act by way of arranging demolition, shoring up, fence protection or dealing with fire. Costs will normally follow the event. Close liaison with the Insurance Company is essential. It is important to have clear indications that responsibility for actions taken, and the resultant claims or costs, rests with the church, which is the initiating authority.
  
• Maintain contact with the District Council, Synod and Trustees throughout, both in the early stages and when decisions about rebuilding are being considered.