Our emergency escape procedures and assignments are designed to respond to many potential emergencies including:
 

Office building fires   Toxic gas releases

Flammable gas releases   Hazardous liquid spills

Oil spills   Release of radiation

Winter storms   Flooding

Bomb threat/Civil disturbance   First-aid emergencies

When an employee is the first person to discover an emergency, or alerted to a specific emergency, they must know their role and how to carry it out. The Fire Marshal has developed alternate procedures for responding to an emergency, depending on the type of emergency. The following guidelines apply to all EAPs:

All employees are trained in safe evacuation procedures, and refresher training is conducted whenever the employee's responsibilities or designated actions under the plan change, and whenever the plan is changed. In addition, the University must review with each employee, upon initial assignment, the sections of the plan that the employee must know to protect the employee in the event of an emergency.

The training includes use of floor plans that clearly show the emergency escape routes included in the Emergency Action Plan. Color-coding aids employees in determining their route assignments. These floor plans and maps are available and posted at all times, in every area of the University, to provide guidance in an emergency.

As a matter of general practice, stairwells are the primary means for evacuation. Elevators are used only when authorized by a fire or police officer, or to assist physically disabled personnel.

The Building Engineer or Facilities Management Supervisor are the designated employees to remain behind during evacuation to care for critical plant operations. The procedures to be followed by those employees who have been selected to remain behind to care for essential plant operations until their evacuation becomes absolutely necessary include: monitoring of plant power supplies, water supplies, and essential services which cannot be shut down for each emergency alarm.

Trained evacuation personnel conduct head counts once the evacuation has been completed. There is at least one trained evacuation person for every twenty employees in the workplace to provide adequate guidance and instruction at the time of an emergency. The employees selected are trained in the complete layout of the workplace and the various alternative escape routes from the workplace. All trained personnel are made aware of employees with disabilities that may need extra assistance such as using the buddy system and of hazardous areas to be avoided during emergencies. Before leaving, these employees check rooms and other enclosed spaces in the workplace for employees who may be trapped or otherwise unable to evacuate the area. A copy of the list of trained personnel appears below:
 

Campus Security Officers

Police Officers

Fire Marshals

Once each evacuated group of employees has reached their evacuation destinations, each trained evacuation employee ensures that all personnel are evacuated in an orderly and safe manner.

Emergency Action Plan