MCLA Emergency Response Guidelines

Building Evacuation Guidelines and Information

Introduction:

All buildings and facilities on campus are maintained and operated as safely as possible. However, there may be times when it is necessary to evacuate college buildings due to an emergency or other problems related to health, safety, or protection of life and property needing immediate attention. When this happens, all building occupants need to be prepared to evacuate college buildings quickly and in an efficient and orderly manner.The following guidelines and information have been prepared, so that all occupants in a campus building or facility will know what to do during situations requiring a building evacuation.

Purpose:

To provide all MCLA campus community members and visitors with guidelines and information to ensure an orderly and complete evacuation of a building occurs when an emergency alarm is sounded or an evacuation order is given by college officials.

Objectives:

The primary objectives of this evacuation plan are to ensure that:

1. Everyone leaves a building safely
2. A procedure to evacuate people in need of special assistance is in place
3. Building occupants are accounted for as accurately as possible after an emergency evacuation

For The Purpose Of This Plan, The Following Are Some Of The Emergencies For Which A Total Or Partial Evacuation Of A Building Is Necessary:

Fire, Explosion, Bomb Threats, Release of Hazardous Chemical Substances, Building Air Contamination, or Any Other Problems Related to Health, Safety or the Protection of Life or Property Needing Immediate Attention

General Building Evacuation Guidelines

At the sound of the emergency (fire) alarm, or upon notification from a college official acting in the performance of their duties, it is the responsibility of all building occupants to evacuate immediately and proceed to the predetermined Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP) away from the building.

Building occupants are also responsible for ensuring that their visitors/guests follow evacuation guidelines described below and leave the building along with all other occupants.

Faculty and instructors are responsible for dismissing their own classes and directing students to leave the building by the safest and quickest evacuation route and building exit, upon hearing the building alarm or after being notified to evacuate the building by a college official acting in the performance of their duties.

Senior Management, Directors, Coordinators, Assistant Directors and Supervisors are responsible for directing their employees and visitors/guests to leave the building by the safest and quickest evacuation route and building exit, upon hearing the building alarm or after being notified to evacuate the building by a college official acting in the performance of their duties.

Designated essential personnel needed to continue or shut down critical operations, while an evacuation is underway are responsible for recognizing and/or determining when to abandon the operation and evacuate themselves.

General contractors providing services at the college will be made familiar with the guidelines outlined herein, and are expected to leave the building when the alarm sounds or evacuation notice is given.

If you are not putting yourself in danger or risking your own personal safety, help and/or direct occupants needing special assistance to evacuate the building or reach a safe area to await the response of emergency personnel.Report information on occupants needing assistance to evacuate and other people who still may be inside the building to emergency responders.

Remember that anyone who chooses to ignore the alarm and your warning to leave is no longer your responsibility. DO NOT ENDANGER YOUR OWN LIFE because someone chooses not to evacuate. Report any knowledge you may have of missing people or people still in the building to emergency responders.

GUIDLEINES AND INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS PLAN WILL BE REVIEWED, EXERCISED, AND UPDATED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCTING BUILDING EVACUATION DRILLS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

Building Evacuation Instructions

Whenever you hear the building alarm sound or are instructed to evacuate the building by a college official acting within the performance of their duties:

• Do Not Panic
• Do Not Ignore the ALARM
• Leave the building immediately, in an orderly fashion. If you are the last person out of a classroom or office close doors (DO NOT LOCK!) behind you to help limit the spread of hazardous conditions to other areas of the building
• Do not take the time to go to lockers or offices to collect personal belongings
• Follow the quickest evacuation route from where you are to the nearest MARKED exit (See Posted Floor Evacuation Plans) Be familiar with alternate exits in the event your primary exit is block or untenable due to fire, heat, smoke or other obstacles
• Classes in session MUST be dismissed and students escorted out of the building
• Do not go back to your classroom or office area for ANY reason
• Proceed to the designated Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP) for your building.If the designated EAP is unsafe or blocked due to the emergency, proceed to the alternate EAP via the quickest and safest route
• Once at the EAP, STAY THERE until you are told by emergency personnel that it is ok to leave. Report any knowledge you may have of missing people or people still in the building to emergency responders.
• Do not go back into an evacuated building unless directed to do so by an official of the college acting in the performance of their duties or by emergency personnel.

Evacuation Guidelines for Persons Needing Assistance

Any person unable to use stairs or needing assistance in evacuating a building should proceed to the nearest designated safe room/area or remain in his/her office or classroom IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. Emergency personnel responding to the alarm will check safe rooms/areas and other places they are notified of where someone has taken refuge.In any emergency requiring evacuation of a building, DO NOT PANIC, proceed as follows:

• If you are on a building floor WITHOUT exit doorways and you hear a fire alarm or are informed of another emergency situation:

1. Go to a safe room/area immediately. (Safe rooms/areas are indicated on all evacuation plans in each classroom or office.)

2. Inform a building occupant or dial the Department of Public Safety Emergency Line at X5100 to alert the first arriving emergency responders of your presence and location inside the building.

3. Call 911 from the safe room/area to ensure rescue personnel are notified of your presence and location in the building. When on the telephone with them, ensure emergency personnel know:

• You are requesting Immediate Assistance to Evacuate

• Provide the operator with your exact location; building name, floor, room number, stairwell, etc…

• Give the phone number you are calling from

• Remain by the phone. Emergency dispatchers have direct radio communication with responding personnel and may need more information from you to assist them in their efforts to evacuate you.

IF YOU ARE ON A BUILDING FLOOR WITH EXIT DOORS AND YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SO, LEAVE THE AREA BY NORMAL MEANS IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. ASK FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF OTHER BUILDING EVACUEES IF NECESSARY.

SAFE ROOMS/AREAS

MCLA has adopted the safe room/area program to provide designated locations where persons needing assistance to evacuate or persons unable to evacuate can go to and await rescue by emergency personnel. A safe room/area, unless otherwise specified, is a regular room or designated area that is easily accessible to individuals with limited mobility, has closeable doors, preferably has access to telephone and windows to the outside and are known to and monitored by responding emergency personnel.

Specific rooms or areas on each floor will be designated as safe rooms/areas. These locations are for use as a refuge by individuals who cannot negotiate stairs during an evacuation, until trained emergency rescue personnel can arrive to assist with their safe evacuation. Safe rooms/areas should only be utilized by other building occupants when ALL other attempts to egress have been exhausted or you are assisting someone who has limited mobility in accessing a safe room/area. IMMEDIATE EVACUATION, WHEN SAFE TO DO SO AND USING THE QUICKEST EGRESS ROUTE OUT OF THE BUILDING, IS THE PRIMARY RESPONSE DURING AN ALARM CONDITION OR NOTICE TO EVACUATE!

Building Lockdown Guidelines

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY

Introduction:

All buildings and facilities on campus are maintained and operated as safely as possible. However, there may be times when it is necessary to lockdown college buildings due to an emergency or other problems related to health, safety, or the protection of life and property needing immediate attention. When this happens, all building occupants need to be prepared to assist in locking down college buildings quickly and in an efficient and orderly manner. The following guidelines and information have been prepared, so that all occupants in a campus building or facility will know what to do during situations requiring a building lockdown.

Purpose:

To provide all MCLA campus community members and visitors with guidelines and information to ensure an orderly and complete lockdown of a building occurs when an emergency alarm is sounded or a lockdown order is given by college officials.

Objectives:

The primary objectives of this lockdown plan are to ensure that:


1. Building occupants know, recognize, and respond to emergency notification methods used to initiate a lockdown
2. Everyone shelters in place safely and securely until notified otherwise by emergency services personnel
3. Building occupants are accounted for as accurately as possible during a lockdown situation

For The Purpose Of This Plan, The Following Are Some Of The Emergencies For Which A Total Or Partial Lockdown Of A Building Is Necessary:


1. Active Shooter or Other Violent Intruders (interior or exterior)
2. Release of Hazardous Chemical Substances Outside of a Building or Any Other Problems Related to Health
3. Safety or the Protection of Life or Property Needing Immediate Attention

General Building Lockdown Guidelines:

Upon receiving emergency notification to initiate a lockdown via telephone, intercom, public address, campus e-mail, campus voicemail, or upon direct notification from a college official acting in the performance of their duties, it is the responsibility of all building occupants to immediately begin and follow established lockdown instructions.

Building occupants are also responsible for ensuring that their visitors/guests follow lockdown guidelines described below and shelter in place in the building along with all other occupants.

Faculty and instructors are responsible for securing their own classrooms and directing students to follow established lockdown instructions, upon receiving emergency notification to initiate a lockdown or after being notified to lockdown the building by a college official acting in the performance of their duties.

Senior Management, Directors, Coordinators, Assistant Directors and Supervisors are responsible for securing their own offices or department spaces and directing employees to follow established lockdown instructions, upon receiving emergency notification to initiate a lockdown or after being notified to lockdown the building by a college official acting in the performance of their duties.

Designated essential personnel needed to continue critical operations while a lockdown is underway are responsible for recognizing and/or determining when to abandon their operational duties and shelter in place according to lockdown instructions themselves.

General contractors providing services at the college will be made familiar with the guidelines outlined herein, and are expected to follow lockdown instructions when the emergency lockdown notice is given.

If you are not putting yourself in danger or risking your own personal safety, help and/or direct occupants needing special assistance to shelter in place in the building or reach a safe area to await the response of emergency personnel. Report information on occupants needing assistance to lockdown and other people who still may be inside the building in an unsecured area to emergency responders.

Remember that anyone who chooses to ignore the emergency lockdown notification and your warning to shelter in place is no longer your responsibility. DO NOT ENDANGER YOUR OWN LIFE because someone chooses not to listen to your instructions. Report any knowledge you may have of missing people or people in the building in unsecured locations to emergency responders.

GUIDLEINES AND INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS PLAN WILL BE REVIEWED, EXERCISED, AND UPDATED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCTING BUILDING LOCKDOWN DRILLS OR ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

Building Lockdown Instructions

Whenever you receive emergency notification of a building lockdown or are instructed to shelter in place in a building by a college official acting within the performance of their duties:

1. Do not panic
2. Do not ignore the emergency lockdown notification or commands from emergency personnel or college officials to shelter in place
3. If you are in an office or classroom, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!
4. Secure the door to the classroom or office you are located in by locking it or wedging it shut.
5. If possible and it is safe to do so, look for other building occupants in hallways seeking shelter before securing the door.
6. Close windows and window treatments.
7. Turn off the lights.
8. Stay away from doors and windows, stay quiet, and stay out of site.
9. Locate yourself and others to an area of the room where there are solid walls, furniture, or other objects, and hide behind them. Stay as low to the floor as possible.
10. Do not leave your classroom or office area for ANY reason, unless given the designated “ALL CLEAR” signal from emergency personnel or college officials.
11. If you are in a hallway, DO NOT SEEK AN EXIT unless you are in imminent danger or instructed to do so by emergency personnel or a college official acting in the performance of their official duties!
12. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER IN A RESTROOM!
13. Seek safety by finding the nearest secure room and follow the instructions noted above
14. Should a fire alarm sound during a lockdown situation, DO NOT EVACUATE THE BUILDING unless you have firsthand knowledge that there is a fire in the building, you are in imminent danger, or you have been instructed to do so by emergency response personnel or a college official acting in the performance of their official duties!
15. DO NOT ENTER A BUILDING IN LOCKDOWN unless you are in imminent danger, or you have been instructed to do so by emergency response personnel or a college official acting in the performance of their official duties!

Active Shooter Response and Building Lockdown Guidelines

An active shooter emergency is defined as a situation where an individual armed with a firearm is shooting citizens, and continues to do so, even in the presence of responding police officers. This individual is willing to exchange fire with police officers and kill unarmed citizens. Response to a critical incident of this nature should involve extreme caution by both first responders and victims, with the primary responsibility of both being the preservation of life.

The following are some general guidelines for responding to an active shooter incident and locking down in a building as a result of an active shooter incident:

Should you find yourself a victim of or involved in an active shooter incident, you should:

In a Classroom or Office:

1. STAY WHERE YOU ARE! Do not go to investigate where the shooting is coming from. Secure the door to the classroom or office where you are located by locking it or wedging it shut. If possible and it is safe to do so, look for other victims in hallways seeking safety before securing the door. Direct someone to call 9-1-1 and report the incident to emergency services dispatchers.
2. GET OUT AND STAY OUT! Once the office or classroom is secure, if possible, have someone keep watch while you evacuate students/employees out ground floor windows to the outside. Once outside, proceed to a safe location. Designate one person to go directly to a phone to dial 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.

If you are not able to escape the office or classroom:

1. STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS, STAY QUIET, AND STAY OUT OF SIGHT! Locate yourself and others away from the doors and windows where the shooter might see you. Move to an area of the room where there are solid walls, furniture, or other objects, and hide behind them. Stay as low to the floor as possible. If capable, call 9-1-1 and report the incident to emergency services dispatchers. STAY ON THE LINE WITH EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS UNTIL TOLD OTHERWISE AND IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO!

In a Hallway:

2. DO NOT RUN DOWN LONG HALLWAYS TO SEEK AN EXIT!
3. DO NOT SEEK SAFETY IN A RESTROOM!
4. SEEK SAFETY BY FINDING THE NEAREST EXIT OR SECURE ROOM. Depending on what is closer, seek safety by finding the nearest exit or secure room. If an exit is available, get out and stay out! Once outside, proceed to a safe location. Designate one person to go directly to a phone to dial 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. If you are not able to exit the building, take shelter in the nearest room and secure the door by locking it or wedging it shut. Then, follow the guidelines listed above for classroom/office locations.