Biological Outbreak Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management

This exercise is part of our catalog of tabletop exercises for building & property management.

Scenario Overview

Participants are the property management team of a fictional multi-tenant building when numerous tenants suddenly become violently ill. Conditions escalate quickly, and the building is quarantined by the Health Department while authorities work to determine whether the outbreak is the result of an accident or a deliberate terrorist act.

As the incident unfolds, property management must address immediate building operations issues, infrastructure concerns, staffing challenges, communications with frightened tenants, and growing media attention. The uncertainty surrounding the cause of the outbreak adds pressure as leadership works to stabilize the situation and support occupants.

This exercise challenges building and property management teams to manage a closed facility for a period ranging from several days to two weeks while balancing life safety, tenant communications, operational continuity, and recovery planning.

Why This Scenario Matters for Building & Property Management

Building and property management organizations are responsible for maintaining safe, functional environments for tenants, occupants, vendors, and staff. A biological outbreak inside a managed property can create immediate health concerns, disrupt building systems and services, and generate intense pressure from tenants, public agencies, and the media.

This exercise helps leadership teams evaluate how they would respond when a serious health-related incident forces a building closure, affects multiple tenants at once, and requires coordinated decisions about operations, communications, staffing, and recovery.

Exercise Objectives

• Evaluate leadership decision-making during a building-wide biological outbreak.
• Discuss coordination with public health authorities, emergency responders, and tenants.
• Review building operations and infrastructure challenges during a prolonged closure.
• Assess staffing, tenant communication, and media response procedures.
• Examine continuity and recovery planning for a quarantine lasting several days or longer.
• Identify opportunities to improve preparedness for health-related facility disruptions.

Typical Participants

• Executive leadership
• Property or building management
• Operations and facilities leadership
• Tenant relations or occupant services staff
• Communications or public affairs staff
• Health and safety personnel
• Business continuity or crisis management team members

Exercise Format

Conduct-It-Yourself Tabletop Exercises are structured, discussion-based simulations designed to help organizations test their response to disruptive events without the time and cost of a fully facilitated exercise. Participants are placed in the middle of a realistic scenario as it unfolds and must work through decisions, priorities, and consequences as a leadership team.

Each downloadable exercise package includes everything needed to conduct the session internally, including facilitator instructions, exercise overview materials, participant forms, a detailed scenario script, and a ready-to-run PowerPoint presentation that guides the scenario and discussion. The materials are designed so organizations can conduct the exercise as delivered or customize the storyline and supporting materials to reflect their own facilities, tenants, operations, and emergency planning objectives.

Most exercises are designed to be conducted in approximately 2 to 4 hours. A typical agenda includes an exercise overview and scenario briefing, the facilitated disaster simulation discussion, group review and preparation for debriefing, and a structured post-exercise discussion to capture lessons learned and improvement opportunities.

Exercise Focus

• Building Operations
• Emergency Response
• Operational Recovery
• Crisis Communications
• Media Relations

Related Tabletop Exercise Scenarios

Organizations exploring this scenario may also find these exercises useful:

• Multiple Disruptions Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management
• Train Wreck Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management
• Earthquake Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management
• Pandemic Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management
• Shelter-in-Place Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management
• Gas Main Explosion Tabletop Exercise for Building & Property Management

Purchase & Download

This exercise is delivered as a downloadable package that includes facilitator instructions, scenario materials, and structured discussion prompts to guide the exercise.