Emergency Guide

Violence includes, but is not limited to:

• Assaults
• Civil disturbances
• Looting
• Protests
• Disruptive and/or threatening behavior
• Presence of a weapon
• Terrorist activity

Call 911 immediately.

Report as much information as possible.

• Location
• Number of individuals involved
• Injuries

• Take cover under sturdy furniture or leave the building.
• Stay away from windows.
• Do not light matches or use any device that creates any type of flame.
• Move well away from the site to a safe location.
• Use stairs only; do not use elevators.
• Dial 911.
• Follow safety protocol and instructions provided by the University, Public Safety and Police Services, or other government agency called in to assist.

• If you observe a suspicious object or potential bomb, do not handle or go near it.
• Do not operate any fire alarm, light switch, power switch, or cell phone.
• Do not light matches or any other type of flame.
• Do not evacuate the building until it has been deemed necessary.
• Call 911.
• Follow safety protocol and instructions provided by the University, Public Safety and Police Services, or other government agency called in to assist.
• If there is an explosion, follow evacuation procedures as you would in a fire.

• If the substance is known to be dangerous, evacuate the room. If it is an explosive or breathing hazard, evacuate the entire building.
• If the substance is unknown, evacuate the room.
• Call 911 and describe the substance and its location. Be sure to note if there is potential for fire or an explosion.

If you are trapped in an elevator

• Remain calm and verify that the stop button has not been pushed.
• Check for the telephone. These phones ring directly to Public Safety and Police Services and provide the dispatcher with your location.
• Call out for help.

If you discover someone trapped in an elevator

• Reassure them and remind them to stay calm.
• If possible, call or send someone to call 911 while another person remains with the elevator.
• Should an elevator become stuck, do not try to open the doors. The elevator may begin working again at any time, potentially causing injury.

A weather emergency is an event that compels the University to close or issue a “seek-shelter” notice to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff.

• Listen to the radio or other broadcasts, or check Michigan Tech's home page.
• Follow safety protocol provided by the University, Public Safety and Police Services, or other government agency called in to assist.

• Activate a fire alarm. Alarms are located near the exits of all campus buildings.
• Get out immediately. If you can do so safely, grab your coat and/or purse and assist anyone in immediate danger.
• On your way out, close doors to prevent the fire from spreading.
• Use stairs—not elevators—and leave the building.
• Call 911; tell the operator as much as you can about the fire, including its location.
• Proceed to the predetermined rally point. If you do not know where the predetermined rally point is, ask an emergency responder or supervisor. If anyone is unaccounted for, notify emergency responders.
• Keep entrances clear so others may escape and emergency workers can enter the building.
• Notify firefighters on the scene if you suspect someone may be trapped inside the building.

Special Conditions—Fire in a Residence Hall or Apartment Building

If you are in a residence hall and a fire alarm sounds, follow the above procedures. Also

• Meet at a designated house location to count residents. Resident assistants will go to a central location to meet with Community Coordinator, Residence Life Coordinator, or other professional staff. Housing and Residential Life will report the names of missing students. RAs will stay with their houses/students/guests and keep a safe distance from the residence.
• See evacuation procedures posted on your floor.

If you receive a suspicious package, call Public Safety and Police Services, 911, from a land line. Do not use any type of wireless communication. Do not handle it or attempt to open it.

Be cautious of

• Foreign mail, airmail, and special deliveries
• Restrictive markings such as confidential or personal
• Excessive or insufficient postage
• Handwritten or poorly typed addresses
• Incorrect titles or titles with no names
• Packages with oily stains or discolorations
• Excessive weight
• Rigid, lopsided, or uneven envelope
• Protruding wires or tinfoil
• Excessive tape or string
• Visual distraction (brightly colored wrapping paper, bows, etc.)
• No return address
• Return address and postmark are not in the same geographic area
• Addressee is not familiar with name or address of sender
• Addressee is not expecting a package

If you are suspicious of a mailing and are unable to verify the contents with the sender

• Do not touch or move the article.
• Do not open.
• Isolate the mailing.
• Call 911 for assistance.

Major injuries or illnesses

• Call 911 to report the problem to Public Safety and Police Services.
• Stay with the victim.
• Do not move the victim unless it is necessary for safety reasons.
• Protect the victim from unnecessary movement or disturbance.
• Stop severe bleeding with direct pressure.
• Keep the victim warm.
• Begin CPR and other first-aid measures only if you are currently trained and certified. However, you are not required to render aid to the victim. If you start CPR, you must continue care, up to your level of training, and stay with the victim until advanced medical assistance arrives.

Electrical shock

• Call 911.
• Be alert for danger! Do not go near the victim unless you are certain that the electrical source has been disconnected, as the human body is a conductor of electricity.

Chemical exposures

In the event of an accident using chemicals that involves an uncontrolled fire, explosion, or large release of hazardous chemicals

• Evacuate the building by activating the nearest fire alarm.
• Call 911 to report the problem to Public Safety and Police Services and give details of the accident, including the location, types of hazardous material involved, and whether there are any injuries.

If the accident involves serious personal injury or chemical contamination, follow the above steps as appropriate and the following:

• Move the victim from the immediate area of the fire, explosion, or spill (only if this can be done without further injury to the victim or to you).
• Remove any contaminated clothing from the victim and flush all areas of the body contacted by chemicals with copious amounts of water for fifteen minutes.
• Administer first aid as appropriate only if you are trained and certified.

Hazardous spills involve chemical, biological, and radiological materials.

• Notify others working in the area of the spill and evacuate immediately.
• Close the doors leading to the spill area and restrict access to the spill area.
• Assist contaminated persons to a safety shower or eyewash station, except in the case of chemicals that react with water. Avoid contaminating yourself.
• Call 911 to report the spill and location to Public Safety and Police Services. Report any medical emergencies and report if the spill has entered the air, ground, sanitary or storm sewers, or surface water.
• Immediately notify your supervisor.
• Only members of a hazardous materials response team should clean up hazardous material spills.
• After the cleanup is complete, an incident report of how the spill occurred must be submitted to Occupational Safety and Health Services.

Chemical exposures

In the event of an accident using chemicals that involves an uncontrolled fire, explosion, or large release of hazardous chemicals

• Evacuate the building by activating the nearest fire alarm.
• Call 911 to report the problem to Public Safety and Police Services and give details of the accident, including the location, types of hazardous material involved, and whether there are any personal injuries.

If the accident involves serious personal injury or chemical contamination, follow the above steps as appropriate and the following:

• Move the victim from the immediate area of the fires, explosion, or spill (only if this can be done without further injury to the victim or to you).
• Remove any contaminated clothing from the victim and flush all areas of the body contacted by chemicals with copious amounts of water for fifteen minutes, except in the case of chemicals that react with water.
• Administer first aid as appropriate, only if you are trained and certified.

Stay calm and keep your voice calm.

Pay close attention to details. Talk to the caller to obtain as much information as possible.

Take notes. Ask questions.

• When will it explode?
• Where is it right now?
• What does it look like?
• What kind of bomb is it?
• Where did you leave it?
• Did you place the bomb?
• Who is the target?
• Why did you plant it?
• What is your address?
• What is your name?

Observe the caller’s

• Speech patterns (accent, tone)
• Emotional state (angry, agitated, calm, etc.)
• Background noise (traffic, people talking and accents, music and type, etc.)
• Age and gender

Write down other data, such as

• Date and time of call
• How the threat was received (letter, note, telephone)

State law requires all bomb threats to be reported to the police. Dial 911 and submit your notes from the telephone call or the bomb threat letter or note to Public Safety and Police Services.

Follow police instructions.

If you are told by emergency responders to evacuate the building

• Check your work area for unfamiliar items.
• Do not touch suspicious items; report them to campus authorities.
• Take personal belongings when you leave.
• Leave doors and windows open.
• Do not turn light switches on or off.
• Use stairs only; do not use elevators.
• Move well away from the building and follow instructions from emergency responders.

An evacuation should empty a building or area of all occupants as quickly and safely as possible.

• Building evacuation—In cases requiring the evacuation of one building (fire, explosion, bomb threat), occupants should proceed to the predetermined designated meeting area.
• General evacuation—When orders are given to evacuate one building or multiple buildings after a major disaster, occupants should proceed to the evacuation meeting area as directed by Public Safety and Police Services.

Public Safety and Police Services and/or other emergency personnel will be available to direct occupants to safe areas.

Department meeting areas are

1. __________________________________________

2. __________________________________________

Do not re-enter the building(s) until allowed to do so by Public Safety and Police Services.

For Physically Disabled Occupants
It is the responsibility of faculty to notify students in each class of the need to identify themselves (in private if desired) if they will need assistance during a building evacuation and to establish an evacuation plan for those identified. Such evacuation plans may include the buddy system and the use of safe-refuge areas.

Safe-refuge areas are places relatively resistant to smoke and heat within a building—for example, a sprinkler-protected room or hallway, or a stairway landing where an occupant could wait until help arrives. If a safe-refuge area is to be used, it is essential to assign, at the time of the emergency, an individual who will tell the emergency responders where the waiting occupant is located.

Employees are responsible for identifying themselves to their supervisor, if they will need assistance during a building evacuation, and the supervisor is responsible for establishing a workable evacuation plan for those employees.

An active shooter is a person who is using a firearm or other weapon with the intent to injure or kill others. Law enforcement personnel will deploy to the location of the active shooter with the primary goal of stopping the shooter.

An active shooter incident can occur under a variety of circumstances, so no one set of guidelines is able to cover specific actions to take in every situation. Even so, familiarity with the following information can help with planning your own survival strategy in a variety of incidents.

• Protect yourself first. Then get help; call 911.
• Get away as fast as you can. If the intruder is armed and you are in the line of fire, do not run in a straight line. Try to keep objects, such as trees, bushes, and vehicles, between you and the intruder.
• If you cannot get away, hide in a place that you think the intruder will not notice.
• If you cannot get away or hide and others have been shot, you may save yourself by playing dead.
• If you are caught, you may choose to submit or fight back. If you submit, avert your eyes and obey all commands. Fighting back is very dangerous, but it could be your last option.

Special Conditions—Active Shooter(s) in a Residence Hall

When an active shooter(s) is actively causing deadly harm or the imminent threat of deadly harm within the residence hall, we recommend the following procedures be implemented:

• Lock yourself in your room.
• If communication is available, dial 911.
• If away from your room, join others in a room that can be locked.
• Do not stay in the open hall.
• Do not sound the fire alarm. A fire alarm would signal the occupants in the rooms to evacuate the building and thus place them in potential harm as they attempt to exit.
• Barricade yourself in your room with desks, beds, or anything you can push against the door.
• Lock your windows and close the blinds or curtains.
• Stay away from the windows.
• Turn off all lights and multimedia equipment.
• Try to stay calm and be as quiet as possible.
• If you are caught in the open, such as hallways and lounge areas, you must decide what you are going to do. This is a very crucial time and can possibly mean life or death depending on your actions.
• You can try to hide, but make sure it is a well-hidden space, or you may be found as the intruder moves through the residence hall looking for more victims.
• If you think you can safely make it out of the building by running, do so. If you decide to run, do not run in a straight line. Keep any objects you can between you and the hostile person(s) while in the building. Once outside, do not run in a straight line.
• If the person(s) are causing death or serious physical injury to others and you are unable to run or hide, you may choose to play dead if other victims are around you.
• If you are caught in an open area in the residence hall, you may choose to fight back. This is dangerous, but depending on your situation, this could be your last option.
• If you are caught by the intruder and are not going to fight back, obey all commands and do not look the intruder in the eyes.
• Once the police arrive, obey all commands. This may involve your being handcuffed or made to put your hands in the air. This is done for safety reasons, and once circumstances are evaluated by the police, they will give you further directions to follow.

An active shooter is a person who is using a firearm or other weapon with the intent to injure or kill others. Law enforcement personnel will deploy to the location of the active shooter with the primary goal of stopping the shooter.

An active shooter incident can occur under a variety of circumstances, so no one set of guidelines is able to cover specific actions to take in every situation. Even so, familiarity with the following information can help with planning your own survival strategy in a variety of incidents.

• Protect yourself first. Then get help; call 911.
• Get away as fast as you can. If the intruder is armed and you are in the line of fire, do not run in a straight line. Try to keep objects, such as trees, bushes, and vehicles, between you and the intruder.
• If you cannot get away, hide in a place that you think the intruder will not notice.
• If you cannot get away or hide and others have been shot, you may save yourself by playing dead.
• If you are caught, you may choose to submit or fight back. If you submit, avert your eyes and obey all commands. Fighting back is very dangerous, but it could be your last option.

Special Conditions—Active Shooter(s) in a Building

• If you cannot escape safely through an exit, lock yourself and other endangered persons inside a room. Cover any windows or openings with a line of sight into the hallway. If there is a threat from outside, close, latch, and cover the windows with curtains or shades. Block the door with furniture.
• Do not sound a fire alarm. The alarm could draw people into the open, where they could be injured.
• Turn off lights and multimedia equipment and remain silent.
• You may wish to consider escaping through a window.

Special Conditions—Active Shooter(s) Enters Your Office or Classroom

• Try to remain calm and call 911, if possible. If you are unable to speak, leave the phone line open so that the dispatcher can hear what is taking place.
• If you cannot escape or hide, you may:
• Try to negotiate with the shooter.
• Pretend to be unconscious.
• Attempt to overpower the shooter with force, as a last resort.