Evacuation is not an option. During the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake, staff at Naval Hospital Bremerton were uncertain regarding the structure’s continued safety and questioned whether to evacuate patients and staff. Following the earthquake, Reid Middleton engineers conducted a detailed inspection and testing program of the hospital’s structural connection. Then, seismic upgrades were designed using 88, fluid-viscous dampers strategically located throughout the building, which damp earthquake energy like shock absorbers in cars. Our engineers then created an innovative Rapid Evaluation & Assessment Program (REAP), a first-response tool designed to provide facility managers at the hospital with the ability to make educated and timely decisions regarding the safety and operability of their facility immediately following an earthquake until structural engineers could be onsite. Now, facility managers don’t have to worry about evacuating this essential facility.
