Emergency Planning &
Response for Colleges &
Universities
Ohio Summit on Campus Safety and
Security
August 2011
Agenda
• Critical Incidents Defined
• Legal Considerations
• Concept of Operations
• Emergency Management
Planning
• NIMS/ICS Overview
Critical Incident Defined
An extraordinary event which
places lives and property in danger
and requires the commitment and
coordination of numerous resources
to bring about a successful
resolution
Examples of Critical
Incidents
• Natural Disasters
• Transportation Accidents
• Information Technology Failures
• Criminal Activities
• Fire/Hazardous Materials
Accidents
Goals for the Institution
• Contain and Resolve
• Restore normal operations and
core business and educational
functions
4 Phases of a Critical
Incident
• Crisis (0 – 60 minutes)
• Scene Management (hours to days)
• Executive Management (a week or
longer)
• Recovery (days or weeks)
Why develop a plan?
• Most importantly, to mitigate risk
and minimize harm
• Fulfill legal duty to exercise
reasonable care to prevent
foreseeable harm
Why the Duty to Prevent
Harm?
•
Well established in tort liability and case
law
✓ You own/control premises
✓ You operate programs, on and off
campus
✓ Sometimes, you have “special
relationships” with students
What risks?
• Premises-related
• Risks due to employee/other
negligence
• Risks from those who intend to
cause harm
• Sometimes, risk of students’ harm
to themselves
AASCU
How to fulfill duties?
• Plan alternatives:
✓ One approach:
script/cookbook
✓ better approach: flexible, allhazards “concept of
operations” plan
Where to find
guidance?
•
Beyond NRP, there are now some
federal and state statutes governing
aspects of emergency planning and
NIMS/ICS compliance.
•
Good news: published, best practice
summaries (e.g., Blueprint for Safer
Campuses) and post-incident reports
may be used to establish standards of
care.
Where to find
guidance?
•
BAD NEWS: if you fail to
consider recommendations and
findings of summaries and
reports, argument could be that
this course of actions falls below
standard of care.
FEMA Guidelines
1.Prevention/Mitigation
2.Preparedness
3.Response
4.Recovery
Prevention/Mitigatio
n
•
•
•
Actions taken to prevent...
Actions taken to decrease…
Actions taken to reduce...
Preparedness
• Strategies, processes, and protocols to prepare
the institution for critical incidents.
• Adopt and institute the Incident Command System
(ICS) and assign roles and responsibilities that
meet the institution’s culture and capabilities.
• Acknowledge role of local first responders and
develop Memorandums of
Understanding/Agreement to support these
understandings.
Response
• Actions taken to effectively contain,
stabilize, and resolve an emergency
situation. The institution should
expand its ability to respond to allhazards, as the response will be
significantly impacted by the severity,
magnitude, duration, and intensity of
the situation.
Recovery
• Return to normal operations…
• Damage Assessment and
Recovery;
• Implementation of the COOP;
• Emotional and mental health of
students, staff, and faculty;
• Logistical issues such as
receiving donations and
volunteers
Problems that always arise
• Communications
• Who’s in charge?
• Resources and Resource Coordination
• Intelligence gathering and problem assessment
• Crowd and traffic control
• Environment
• Planning and training
• Media
• Politics
HSPD-5
• Created a National Response Plan (NRP)
• Under the NRP, a National Incident
Management System (NIMS) developed
• Ensures consistent nationwide framework
for local, state, and federal agencies
• Use of the Incident Command System
(ICS)
Concept of
Operations
• Provides an “All Hazards” campus wide
operational plan
• Provides Effective and Efficient Incident
Management, from Pre-Planning & Initial
Response Through Recovery
• Provides Effective Communications - Internal
and External
• System for Incident Management while
Providing Critical Campus Operations
Campus Concept of
Operations
• Executive Policy Group
• Emergency Operations Center
• Command Post
• Initial Response
Campus Concept of
Operations
•
Initial Response
✓ Scene Isolation and Stabilization
•
Command Post Operations
✓ Scene Management & Resolution
7 Critical Tasks for the On-Scene
Supervisor
1. Inner Perimeter
2. Outer Perimeter
3. Staging Area (in between
perimeters)
4. ID and Request Resources
5. Identify the “Danger Zone”
6. Establish Communications
7. Establish Scene Command Post
Campus Concept of
Operations
• Emergency Operations Center
(EOC)
✓ Focus on impact of the incident
on the institution
✓ Provides coordination and
networking with scene(s)
✓ Major logistics, Maintenance of
Routine Operations
Proper Mix of Participants in
EOC
• The LOCATION of the incident
determines the divisions, colleges
and departments that should be
involved
• The KIND of incident dictates the
functional departments of the
involved divisions or colleges, as
well as other agencies that may be
involved
Command Post vs.
EOC
• Command Post – a central decisionmaking area established by the Incident
Commander to house command staff
(esp. during Crisis Phase)
• Emergency Operations Center – fully
expanded ICS for larger management
challenges (est. during executive
management phase)
Campus Concept of
Operations
• Executive Policy Group (overall
guidance)
✓ Focus on impact to the institution
✓ Organize and direct policy decisions
✓ Insulate
✓ Inform/Update VIPs
✓ Politics
✓ Message to the campus & public
Challenges with Institutional
Response
• Confusion and/or delays in response can
cause further exposure to danger and
increased property damage
• Don’t need to be an expert (information will
come from experts)
• Need a system that will allow you to put
experts to work rapidly
• Must organize quickly to carry out requests
from experts and first responders
Checklist for Plan
• Administrative Framework
✓ Levels of Emergency Response
✓ Phases of Emergency
✓ Definitions (executive authority;
policy group; emergency planning
group; roles for each)
✓ Key Roles
✓ EOC
Checklist for Plan
• Response Framework
✓ Declare & Coordination of
Emergency Condition
✓ Emergency Communications
Checklist for Plan
Emergency Communication
• Understanding Emergency Notifications
✓ TAU
• How to Notify the Campus Community
• Confirmation of Emergency
• Content of the Notification
✓ AIR
• Exempt Circumstances (Prof. Judgment)
Checklist for Plan
Emergency Communication
 Covers a broad array of potential threats – not just
Clery Act crimes
 Applies only to threats occurring “on-campus”
 Excludes threats occurring off-campus or in public
property areas
 Only exception is if issuing notice compromise
efforts to contain the emergency
Checklist for Plan
Emergency notifications should be
issued when it is determined that there
is a “significant emergency or
dangerous situation involving an
immediate threat to the health or safety
of students or employees occurring on
campus.”
Checklist for Plan
• An “immediate threat to the health
or safety of students or employees”
including:
✓ All “hazards” - not just Clery crimes
‣ Terrorist Attack
‣ Natural Disaster
‣ Environmental
‣ Other
Checklist for Plan
• Confirmation of “Significant Emergency”
✓ Articulates the “process used” to confirm the
emergency or dangerous situation that
threatens the health or safety of students or
employees.
• Segment or Segments to Receive
✓ Permits institutions to determine which
segment or segments are at risk.
✓ Must disclose the “process” used to determine
which segment(s) would receive notification
Checklist for Plan
• Content -- Explain how the
notification content will be
developed.
✓ For example, could designate the
campus police department or could
jointly designate the University
police and public relations.
✓ Intention is to discourage a process
that will delay issuance.
Checklist for Plan
• Initiate Notification “Without Delay”
✓ The regulations do not directly define what is
meant by immediately notify.
‣ Withheld only if issuing would "compromise
efforts to contain the emergency."
‣ Includes "efforts to assist a victim or to
contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate
the emergency.”
✓ A list of the titles of the person or persons or
organization or organizations responsible for
carrying out these actions
Checklist for Plan
• Need Not Issue Timely Warning
✓ If you issue an emergency notification no need
to also issue a timely warning based on the
"same circumstances.“
✓ Adequate Follow-Up Information
✓ Provide adequate follow-up information such as
an all-clear or updates about continuing steps
taken to respond to an emergency, i.e., class
cancellations.
Checklist for Plan
• Plans & Agreements
✓ All Hazards List
✓ Sample Communications
Messages
✓ Mutual Aid Agreements
‣ Other IHEs
‣ Area First Responders
Incident Action Plans
Written or verbal action plans at the
field response level, which reflect
the overall strategy and specific
tactical action and support
information for the next specified
operational period.
Areas of Emphasis
(legal)
• Drill EPG on process
• Train those who need to know about
reporting structures, legal
responsibilities, how to care for selves
and others
• Be sure that threat assessment/studentat-risk teams have shared understanding
of privacy vs. safety balance, and
applicable laws
Benefits of ICS
• Uses a common language and
response culture;
• Optimizes combined efforts;
• Eliminates duplicative efforts;
• Establishes a single command post;
• Allows for collective approval of
operations, logistics, planning, and
finance activities
Benefits of ICS
• Encourages a cooperative response
environment;
• Allows for shared facilities, reducing
response costs, maximizing efficiency, and
minimizing communication breakdowns; and
• Permits responders to develop and
implement one consolidated Incident Action
Plan (IAP).
Next Steps
• STEP 1: Get Organized
• STEP 2: conduct a safety and
vulnerability study
• STEP 3: Develop/Update
Emergency Ops Plan
• STEP 4: Train to the plan
Contact Information
shealy@margolis-healy.com
www.Margolis-Healy.com
866-817-5817