Emergency Action Plan: Progress made in campus safety

By Cassidy Herrington

[email protected]

In the event of a toxic chemical permeating the realm of the Chemistry-Physics Building, there may be a comprehensive plan underway for evacuation and response.

A year after examining the security plan of campus buildings, the Emergency Management Office is making final reviews over drafts for building safety plans.

Anthany Beatty, vice president for Campus Services, said, “There is a new security plan in terms of how campus and police react.”

The department’s Web site states:  “Building Emergency Action Plans have been developed for a number of buildings and will be completed for all buildings.

Evacuation plans for University buildings, including residence halls, are in place and have been reviewed.”

Last fall, 90 percent of the buildings on campus did not have a safety plan, and over the summer, the department made significant progress.

Christy Giles, emergency management director, said more than 60 drafted building plans are under review from the last month and a half.  Giles did not know the number of completed plans.

The buildings on campus will receive a specific to-the-building  Building Emergency Action Plan, or BEAP. These act as a response to threatening situations such as chemical spills, severe weather conditions or shootings.

“The plans are directed toward the people within the campus community to protect themselves,” Giles said. “These are the actions building occupants take in response to an emergency.”

The plans will not be posted, but rather, each building will have its own respective building emergency coordinator who communicates the appropriate action to the building occupants.

“The coordinators will provide access to this information through documents, e-mails or handouts,” Giles said.

The plans are an independent effort of the campus police force and serve as an immediate response by the community.

“The police are going to respond to the emergency,” Giles said. “These plans are designed for before the responders arrive.”

The plans are implemented after revision, and Giles said the new strategy is catching on with other universities.

“A lot of schools are in the process of doing this,” Giles said. “People are doing this across the nation.”