EPP Synopsis/Summary Plan

public safety

OVERVIEW

This document provides a management framework for responding to major emergencies or disruptions that may threaten the health and safety of the University community or disrupt its programs and operations.  This plan is based on the below outline situation and assumptions.

Situation

Millikin University is a residential institution located within the corporate limits of the City of Decatur, Illinois, encompassing approximately eighty-four (84) acres and nearly one million square feet of academic, residential, and support facilities. The University operates year-round, with peak population during the traditional academic calendar (mid-August through late May). During peak periods, the campus population includes approximately: 

  • 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students 
  • 465 faculty and staff 
  • 1,100 residential students 

Due to its location, population density, and operational profile, Millikin University is exposed to a wide range of natural, technological, medical, and human-caused hazards.
 

Assumptions

Millikin University officials recognize that emergency response, rescue, and hazard mitigation are outside of their institutions expertise and resource base capabilities.  Millikin University also understands that as a residential higher education institution we have a significant responsibility to prepare for any threat to our community and prepare a response to complement the anticipated emergency services response to a campus emergency. 

With these assumptions in mind, this Emergency Preparedness Plan establishes an Incident Response Team (IRT) that ascertains the scope of an incident and advises the University President. The Incident Response Team establishes response strategies and tactics, deploys resources, and initiates the emergency recovery process. The designated IRT leader and 鈥淚ncident Commander鈥 is the Director of Public Safety.

IRT emergency response actions are guided by 黑料正能量 overriding emergency priorities:

  • Protect life safety
  • Stabilize the incident and secure critical infrastructure
  • Provide timely, accurate communication
  • Preserve and restore the academic mission

An emergency event at Millikin may be designated as a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 situation:

  • LEVEL 1:      A minor incident that is quickly resolved with internal resources or limited help.
    • The Emergency Plan is not activated.
       
  • LEVEL 2:      A major emergency that impacts sizable portions of the campus and that may affect mission-critical functions or life safety.
    • The Emergency Plan is activated and a subset of the IRT determines the magnitude of the emergency. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may be opened.
       
  • LEVEL 3:      A disaster that involves the entire campus and surrounding community.
    • The Emergency Plan is activated and the entire IRT mobilizes at the EOC.

DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY PLANS are developed and maintained in each Millikin administrative and academic unit. These documents outline strategies for protecting department personnel and programs and for coordinating with the EOC. Emergency Plans in specialized service units indicate how they will provide specific emergency aid for the campus 鈥 such as safety assessments, search & rescue, repairs, sheltering, counseling, and other support. 

 

GENERAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN

The Millikin Emergency Preparedness Plan outlines the University鈥檚 procedures for managing major emergencies that may threaten the health and safety of the campus community or disrupt its programs and activities. The Plan identifies departments and individuals that are directly responsible for emergency response and critical support services, and provides a management structure for coordinating and deploying essential resources. 

Every administrative and academic unit is expected to draft a Department Emergency Plan to protect personnel and programs and to support campus response and recovery actions. The University maintains a comprehensive emergency preparedness and safety plan to mitigate potential hazards and to familiarize students, faculty, and staff with emergency procedures.

SCOPE

The Millikin Emergency Preparedness Plan guides preparedness, response, and recovery actions. It applies to a broad range of emergency incidents and may be activated during:

  • Earthquakes
  • Hazardous material releases
  • Floods
  • Tornado
  • Fire or explosions
  • Extended power outages
  • Mass casualty events
  • Medical Epidemics
  • Significant disruption due to cyberthreats

The Emergency Plan may also be activated when a complete or partial campus evacuation is required or during a crowd situation. The plan may be used during major emergencies that occur adjacent to campus, but do not necessarily impact our physical facilities, to coordinate emergency information and support services.  (Examples:  a major toxic spill on an adjacent roadway or railroad, tornado in the surrounding neighborhood). Millikin University maintains that a major emergency in the community that affects our students, faculty and staff is a University emergency.

GENERAL EMERGENCY PLAN

  1. Identification of the emergency
  2. Immediate actions and notifications
    1. Provide assistance to injured persons
    2. Take action to minimize property damage
    3. Notify Emergency Response Team if level 2 or 3 emergency exists
  3. Assessment and Priorities
    1. IRT Leader, in conjunction with the President determines the level of emergency and notifies IRT personnel as necessary.
    2. IRT personnel assemble and coordinate the overall response to the emergency.
  4. Organizational Recovery
    1. Detailed discussion of damage; what was done; what needs to be done.
    2. Plan for and implement resumption of operations and the teaching program
    3. Documentation 鈥 videos, pictures, lists, records of damage and recovery.
    4. Debriefing and review
    5. Critique

 

IDENTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY and IMMEDIATE ACTIONS

At Millikin University, emergency incidents are classified according to their severity and potential impact so that emergency response operations can be calibrated for actual conditions.

LEVEL 1:

A minor, localized department or building incident that is quickly resolved with existing University resources or limited outside help. A Level 1 emergency has little or no impact on personnel or normal operations outside the locally affected area. Level 1 incidents do not require activation of the University Emergency Preparedness Plan. Impacted personnel or departments coordinate directly with the Facilities Department and the Department of Public Safety or other campus groups to resolve Level 1 conditions. In some incidents, Marketing & Media Relations will be asked to activate public information systems to provide necessary bulletins.

Examples: Odor complaints, localized chemical spill, plumbing failure or water leak.

LEVEL 2:

A major emergency that disrupts sizable portions of the campus community. Level 2 emergencies may require assistance from external organizations. These events may escalate quickly and have serious consequences for mission-critical functions or may threaten life safety. The IRT Leader receives reports from responding operational departments, determines plan activation and may convene an assessment team drawn from IRT membership. The team evaluates the scope of the incident, coordinates essential services, and provides emergency information. Members of this assessment team may include:

  • Vice Presidents
  • Director of Public Safety
  • Director of Facilities
  • Assistant Director of Public Safety
  • Manager - Maintenance and Grounds

Examples: Building fire, major chemical spill, extensive power or utility outage, severe flooding, or an existing or imminent external emergency that may affect MU personnel or operations.

LEVEL 3:

A disaster involving the entire campus and surrounding community. Normal University operations are suspended. The effects of the emergency are wide-ranging and complex. A timely resolution of disaster conditions requires University-wide cooperation and extensive coordination with external jurisdictions. 

The Emergency Plan is automatically activated and all Incident Response Team members report to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Examples: Tornado hits campus, major earthquake

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • This University Emergency Plan pertains to Level 2 and Level 3 emergencies only.
  • The designation of a major incident鈥檚 emergency level is made by the IRT Leader in consultation with the President.
  • The designated level for an incident may change as conditions intensify or ease.
  • Evacuations or campus closures are authorized by the Incident Response Team and are announced from the EOC. 

 

ASSESSMENT and PRIORITIES

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRIORITIES

In an emergency situation, Millikin University鈥檚 overriding mission is to:

  • Protect life safety 
  • Secure our critical infrastructure and facilities
  • Effectively communicate the situation and the response effort to our affected populations
  • Resume the teaching program

General emergency response priorities follow from these goals.  Naturally, the contextual characteristics of a particular emergency event (such as the time or day when an incident occurs) may require some adjustments within the following priority categories:

RESPONSE PRIORITIES

  • Buildings used by dependent populations
  • Residences
  • Occupied classrooms, auditoriums, work areas
  • Occupied arenas, special event venues
  • Buildings critical to health and safety
  • Potential shelters, food supplies
  • Sites containing potential hazards
  • Facilities that sustain the emergency response
  • Energy systems
  • Computer installations
  • Communications services
  • Transportation systems
  • Classroom and research buildings
  • Administrative buildings


INCIDENT RESPONSE LEADERSHIP

A Millikin Incident Response Team (IRT), drawn from the University鈥檚 senior administrative and academic management, coordinates the campus response to major incidents. The President provides executive supervision for the entire emergency response process. If the President is unavailable during a campus emergency to act as executive head of the institution, the succession order is: Provost, Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer, Vice President of Admission & Student Affairs, Vice President for Athletics & Community Engagement, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Vice President of Finance and Operations, and the Vice President of University Advancement. 

The IRT Leader is responsible for the operational direction of the response and serves as the Incident Response Team Leader and Incident Commander. If the Director of Public Safety is unavailable, the succession follows established University protocol as noted above.

The IRT Leader determines whether to activate the emergency plan and whether to convene all or part of the IRT after emergency conditions have been verified by the Department of Public Safety and/or Facilities, and if necessary, after consulting with the President. 

The IRT Leader alerts the team and informs them that a mobilization is required. 

When the Incident Response Team assembles, its responsibilities are to:

  • Determine the scope and impact of the incident
  • Make appropriate emergency notifications
  • Prioritize emergency actions
  • Deploy resources and equipment
  • Communicate information and instructions
  • Monitor and re-evaluate conditions
  • Contact and coordinate response with local Emergency Management Agency

When emergency conditions abate, the IRT Leader and the University President determine the appropriate time to deactivate the Emergency Plan.


THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC)

Incident Response Team members report to a central Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate decisions and resources.

            Primary EOC location:            Office of Public Safety

            Alternate EOC sites:               Alumni & Development Center

                                                            ADM-Scovill Hall, MBA Classroom 207 

EOC equipment and supplies are maintained and stored by the Office of Public Safety

The Office of Public Safety is responsible for the planning and general management of the EOC facility and its resources. They will assemble appropriate data, equipment, and supplies. They will prepare an EOC Resources Directory, containing critical internal and external contact information and emergency action checklists.  Copies are kept at the EOC and are available for relocation to an alternative site. 

As soon as possible, the Office of Public Safety is responsible for providing a scribe to record incident events the order is as follows:

  • Public Safety Dispatcher
  • Facilities Administrative Assistants
  • Public Safety Administrative Assistant
  • Business Office Clerks and Admin
     

ORGANIZATIONAL RECOVERY

As the incident begins to stabilize, efforts towards beginning Organizational Recovery will become the focus of the IRT. If deemed necessary, the President will appoint a recovery task force, led by the Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer. This task force will be responsible for organizing the resumption of normal business operations to quickly support the resumption of the academic mission. It will also be responsible to thoroughly document the incurred institutional costs due to infrastructure damage and response/recovery expenses. 

The task force will be comprised of the following departments:

  • Fiscal Office
  • Facility Services
  • Information Technology

Depending on the breadth of the damage, representatives from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Human Resources, or other departments may be added to the task force to assist in the recovery effort.

All departments should be prepared to assist the recovery task force in their mission. They can assist greatly by retaining all documentation related to the incident.  This documentation will be vital in recovering costs associated with the incident. Some examples of pertinent records are listed here:

RECOVERY DOCUMENTATION

  • Lists of damaged and destroyed equipment
  • Equipment usage records
  • Vendor purchase orders, invoices and payments
  • Materials usage records
  • Contractor contracts, invoices and payments
  • Overtime expense documentation
  • Insurance information/settlements
  • Police, Fire, EMS, and Public Safety response logs and reports
  • University scribe/historian report

When emergency conditions are stabilized and normal University operations resume, the Emergency Plan will be de-activated by the Incident Response Team Leader and Incident Commander. A formal announcement will be disseminated using all emergency information and notification systems.

If the nature of the incident requires an extension of some emergency services, special work groups may be appointed to coordinate those continuing activities. These groups may need to consider:

  • Academic or administrative space reallocations
  • Support services for impacted students, faculty or staff
  • Community relief assistance

PLAN EVALUATION

A written 鈥淎fter-Action Report鈥 will be presented to the President by the Incident Commander/IRT team leader for the incident. This report should be submitted within seven days of the incident.

A follow up survey of the IRT members, departments, and the general campus community will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the response effort. This review will be led by Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer with the assistance of the Coordinator of Institutional Research. This survey should be conducted within 2-4 weeks of the incident and the results of the survey and the After Action Report will be shared with the entire IRT for review to help determine whether areas of the Emergency Plan should be modified to better prepare ourselves.