The document discusses emergency planning and response for colleges and universities. It defines critical incidents and outlines 4 phases: crisis, scene management, executive management, and recovery. It emphasizes establishing an emergency operations center and incident command structure using the National Incident Management System. A key point is that during critical incidents, responders in the emergency operations center are often behind events. The document provides an overview of establishing an "all-hazards" emergency operations plan and checklists to develop administrative frameworks, response frameworks, and emergency communication protocols as required by law.

1. Emergency Planning & Response
for Colleges & Universities
VACLEA Summer Conference
June 2011

2. Agenda
• Critical Incidents Defined
• Legal Considerations
• Concept of Operations
• Emergency Management Planning
• NIMS/ICS Overview

3. 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

4. Problems that always arise
During a critical incident, the people
in the Emergency Operations
Center are always 30 – 60 minutes
behind the event.

5. 4 Phases of a Critical Incident
1. Crisis (0 – 60 minutes)
2. Scene Management (hours to days)
3. Executive Management (a week or
longer)
4. Recovery (days or weeks)
(each has objectives and strategies)

6. Examples of Critical Incidents
• Natural Disasters
• Transportation Accidents
• Information Technology Failures
• Criminal Activities
• Fire/Hazardous Materials Accidents

7. Suspect
on
the
Loose
at
Delaware
State
© Margolis, Healy & Associates, LLC & Dinse Knapp & McAndrew

8. Goals for the Institution
• Contain and Resolve
• Restore normal operations and core business
and educational functions

9. Why develop a plan?
• Most importantly, to mitigate risk and
minimize harm
• Fulfill legal duty to exercise reasonable care
to prevent foreseeable harm

10. 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

11. 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

12. AASCU

13. How to fulfill duties?
• Plan alternatives:
✓ one approach: script/cookbook
✓ better approach: flexible, all-hazards
“concept of operations” plan

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. FEMA Guidelines
1.Prevention/Mitigation
2.Preparedness
3.Response
4.Recovery

17. Prevention/Mitigation
• Actions taken to prevent...
• Actions taken to decrease…
• Actions taken to reduce...

18. 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.

19. Response
Actions taken to effectively contain, stabilize, and
resolve an emergency situation. The institution
should expand its ability to respond to all-
hazards, as the response will be significantly
impact by the severity, magnitude, duration, and
intensity of the situation.

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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)

23. 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

24. Campus Concept of Operations
• Executive Policy Group
• Emergency Operations Center
• Command Post
• Initial Response

25. Campus Concept of Operations
• Initial Response
✓ Scene Isolation and Stabilization
• Command Post Operations
✓ Scene Management & Resolution

26. 7 Critical Tasks for the On-Scene Supervisor
1. Inner Perimeter
7
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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Command Post vs. EOC
• Command Post – a central decision-making
area established by the Incident Commander
to house command staff (est. during crisis
phase)
• Emergency Operations Center – fully
expanded ICS for larger management
challenges (est. during executive management
phase)

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Checklist for Plan
• Response Framework
✓ Declare & Coordination of Emergency
Condition
✓ Emergency Communications

34. 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)

35. Checklist for Plan
Emergency Communication
• Covers a broad array of potential threats –not just
Clery crime statistics
• 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

36. 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.”

37. Checklist for Plan
• An “immediate threat to the health
or safety of students or employees”
includes:
✓ All “hazards” - not just Clery crimes
‣ Terrorist Attack
‣ Natural Disaster
‣ Environmental
‣ Other

38. 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

39. 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.

40. 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

41. 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.

42. Checklist for Plan
• Plans & Agreements
✓ All Hazards List
✓ Sample Communications Messages
✓ Mutual Aid Agreements
‣ Other IHEs
‣ Area First Responders

43. 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.

44. 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/student-at-
risk teams have shared understanding of
privacy vs. safety balance, and applicable laws

45. 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;

46. 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).

47. 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

48. Contact Information
shealy@margolis-healy.com
www.Margolis-Healy.com
866-817-5817