The Office of Risk Management, Environmental Health and Safety (ORM), the coordinating office for the University’s Emergency Response and Recovery Program, is reviewing the University’s emergency response plan following the shocking events at Virginia Tech.
“Emergency preparedness is under constant assessment by the University. However, we need to make sure that our plans are reviewed and updated based on any new information we discover following events such as the tragic shootings at Dawson College and Virginia Tech,” says Lori Warren, assistant director/manager, Systems and Planning, who coordinates the Emergency Response and Recovery program.
In addition to improving program elements based on lessons learned, Warren will work with Protection Services to look more specifically at evacuation plans, to make sure that the University’s 40,000 students and staff could be moved to designated safe places in case of an emergency, she explains.
The Emergency Response and Recovery Program encompasses all types of emergencies, from small Level 1 events such as the spilling of a container of hazardous material, which an individual can clean up, to Level 3 emergency infectious disease outbreaks, shootings or natural disasters. Other program elements include communications planning, development of specialized internal response teams, and building of strong relationships with external resources.
In addition to a general emergency response plan, each individual faculty and service on campus has someone designated to develop its own emergency plan, with ORM support.
Last year the University partnered with Algonquin College and Carleton University to plan for infectious disease outbreaks and pandemic influenza. Protection Services also has an ongoing close-working relationship with City of Ottawa Police, Fire and Paramedic Services.
The University has also been developing a crisis assistance team that will offer “psychological first aid” in the aftermath of any major event, says Claude Giroux, director of Protection Services. He hopes the team will be operational by fall to coincide with the completion of ORM’s emergency plan updates. The new team will work with services already available to the University.
“When we have incidents that don’t necessarily apply to us, but are at facilities that mirror what we do, we want to make our community aware that we have counselling or other services available to them,” Warren adds.
Faculty and staff will be able to access the plan through the Web site. Meantime, the University is asking all faculty and staff to remain vigilant about safety on campus.
“Security is not the responsibility of one staff member or one person – it’s the responsibility of everyone,” says Giroux.
