A public authority or a company may be damaged if there is a serious accident in the
environment, for example a fire, an explosion, the release of toxic substances or the emission
of dangerous radiation. Here, the risk is not only posed by the event itself, but also by activities
which often result from these events, such as road closures or rescue measures.
The properties belonging to an organisation may be subject to a variety of threats from the
environment, among other things due to traffic (roads, railways, air, and water), neighbouring
businesses, or residential areas.
Prevention or rescue measures may also directly affect the organisation's properties. Such
measures can also mean that employees cannot reach their workplaces or that personnel
require evacuation. However, problems may also indirectly affect an organisation due to the
complexity of the building services and IT equipment.
Example:
• A huge cloud of smoke developed due to a fire in a chemical plant located in the
immediate vicinity of a computer centre (approximately 1000 metres away). The
computer centre had an air conditioning and ventilation system that was not equipped
with an outside air monitor. It was only the attentiveness of an employee (the accident
occurred during working hours) who followed the development and spreading of the
smoke cloud that allowed the outside air intake to be closed manually before it was too
late.