The Incident Management component of the GWU Risk Management Plan (GWU-RMP) establishes procedures and duties in order to adequately respond to emergencies as part of university policy and applicable regulatory codes and standards. Area occupants, administration, staff, and students are expected to be familiar with emergency procedures, participate in training, and orient and inform guests of the procedures to be followed in case of an alarm or emergency.
This section of the GWU-RMP reflects the University’s emergency response procedures and programs and satisfies the Department Health and Safety Plan element required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under 29 CFR 1910.38. The Incident Management component combines and incorporates existing emergency response procedures developed by GWU, and standardizes response activities secondary to protocols established by the Gardner-Webb University Police Department (GWU-PD). Although these procedures are in place for campus use, GWU-PD and any other professional emergency responder protocol will take precedence in actual emergency situations.
The President of the University will be consulted in all major decisions concerning the overall safety of individuals on campus during an emergency. This will include working in conjunction with local, state and federal agencies, University command center and Public relations.
The Occupational and Environmental Safety Officer (OESO) has the primary responsibility to ensure that this plan, and any supplemental emergency response plan, are implemented throughout the campus. This includes training on emergency response, coordinating emergency response drills, and assisting with communications and appropriate response in the event of an emergency situation. The OESO will also be responsible for maintaining a current list of response personnel for Emergency Notifications.
The Director of Operations for Facilities and Maintenance is responsible for ensuring that personnel are conducting campus operations in a safe manner, and in accordance with existing safety related plans and procedures. This includes ensuring personnel are trained in the proper procedures for handling and storage of potential dangerous equipment and materials, assessing control procedures and protective equipment, and coordinating efforts during emergency evacuations.
The Chief Communications officer will be responsible for the team managing the official communications channels during an emergency. This team will; review emergency messaging as it is developed and deployed from emergency management (SWN), direct media outlets where to stage for coverage, handle media calls and inquiries, arrange for on camera interviews, post updates on and monitor social media and post updated content to University homepage “emergency” banner.
At no time should any faculty or staff speak with the media. All media request should be directed to the Chief Communications Officer.
The Gardner-Webb University Police Department (GWU-PD) is a multifunctional service agency whose primary purpose is to protect the University Community and enforce state, federal, and local laws designed for the safety of life and property or the GWU campus. The GWU-PD is comprised of professional men and women whose purpose is to provide a safe environment in which students, faculty, and staff may live, learn, and work. The professionally trained officers of this department often work with local, state, and federal authorities to resolve cases.
The Campus Crisis Response Team’s mission is to provide students, administrators, faculty, and staff of GWU the safest possible environment to live and learn. Its primary purpose is to educate, inform, and respond to any emergency situation that affects the campus community. A campus wide plan is in place which allows the CRT to maximize its ability to minimize the loss of life and property. The CRT consists of GWU administrators, GWU Operations, GWU Student Development, GWU Public Relations, GW-UPD and local government officials:
The Faculty Safety Advisor or Chemical Hygiene Officer – as needed
The President will be in consulted with all major decisions, the internal workings of the University Command center will follow the hierarchy listed here:
Any member of the team or their designee shall have the authority and training to call for command response or threat assessment review. In event of an incident or item of concern, the CRT will be activated through established LiveSafe protocols and will provide guidance to mitigate and/or de-escalate risk factors on the path to violence, or other situations resulting in a threat at GWU. In addition, the Cleveland County Communication Center (911) can activate a response of this team, via a push text notification to the GWU emergency response group. In addition, the team can activate multiple levels of response using protocols established in LiveSafe. The team will investigate reported concerns, develop and help implement an action plan in partnership with the affected party(ies) and assist in managing the concern to resolution.
The Critical Incident Plan (CIP) is a program that will continue to develop over time. Routine review and discussions on the CIP will be conducted as follows:
The CIP Review Process will also fall within the responsibilities of the CRT under the direction of the Director of Operations for Facilities and Maintenance.
LiveSafe is GWU’s emergency notification system. If there is a condition which threatens the health and safety of persons on campus, university officials will warn the campus community using one or more of the following methods of communication:
Primary:
Secondary: (May or may not be utilized depending on staff availability)
Table 1 – Communication Methods Descriptions
When reporting a crime in progress on campus, immediately DIAL 911. In the event of a fire or medical emergency immediately contact emergency services (911) followed by GWU-PD.
Non-EmergencyOn Campus: GWU-PD can be reached 24 hours a day by dialing ext. 4444Off Campus: dial (704) 406-4444.
Following notification to appropriate emergency services, the following individuals should be contacted to be made aware of the emergency or situation that could evolve into an emergency:
Director of Operations for Facilities and MaintenanceDirector of Environmental and Occupational SafetyDirector of Operations for AdministrationDean of Students
Emergency Notification Contacts are maintained in LiveSafe.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE AND ALL PLANNED PROCEDURES IS AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE FIRST REPONDERS PRESENT AND/OR UNIVERSITY CRT COMMAND AND SHALL BE CONSIDERED BASED ON BEST INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT TIME OF DECISIONS.
Gardner-Webb University (GWU) has established Emergency Evacuation Procedures to minimize and prevent injury and property damage on campus, which includes buildings, parking lots, and immediate outside areas. These procedures provide systematic, safe, and orderly evacuation of affected areas in case of fire or other emergencies. Building specific emergency evacuation plans are provided in Attachment 1-1. Residents and occupants should be aware of these plans and procedures in the event of required evacuation.
The need for evacuation can be for many reasons. The keys to a successful evacuation are:
Specific Responsibilities and Assigned Actions
An emergency is an incident, either caused by humans or a natural phenomenon that requires response actions to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to property and/or the environment. The following categories of an emergency are provided as guidelines to assist the Crisis Response Team (CRT) in determining the appropriate response:
Minor Emergency: Any incident, potential or actual, which will not seriously affect any person or persons, or the overall functional capacity of Gardner-Webb University (GWU). Response is typically limited to GWU emergency procedures and assistance from Gardner-Webb University Police Department (GWU-PD) unless the emergency situation becomes escalated.
Major Emergency: ACTIVATE CRT Any incident, potential or actual, which affects a person or persons, building or buildings, and which will disrupt the overall operations of GWU. Outside emergency services will probably be required, as well as major efforts from GWU and GWU-PD. Major policy considerations and decisions will usually be required from the University administration and the CRT during time of crisis.
Disaster: ACTIVATE CRT Any event or occurrence, which has taken place and has seriously impaired or halted the operations of GWU. In some cases, mass personnel casualties and/or severe property damage may be sustained. A coordinated effort of all campus-wide resources is required to effectively control that situation. Outside emergency services and GWU-PD assistance will be essential. In all cases of a disaster, a Critical Incident Command Center will be activated, and the appropriate support and operational plans will be executed. Notification should be provided immediately to GWU-PD and Cleveland County Emergency Management.
In addition to the summary emergency procedures provided below, Attachment 1-2 contains quick reference guides for the following emergency situations:
In order to adequately respond to both Major Emergency and/or Disaster situations, the campus and GWU-PD have developed and implemented the GWU Critical Incident Plan (CIP). Included as Attachment 1-3A, this plan outlines procedures to be followed in order to notify appropriate emergency response personnel, and assist with establishing a Command Post. The CIP provides the following initial response procedures:
University Command Post
Authorities may elect to establish an independent command post or may elect to co-locate command with the GWU CRT.
The Command post procedures will vary depending upon each type of incident but will always consist of the following:
Vehicular Traffic
Campus Traffic responsibilities
Tornadoes develop from powerful thunderstorms. They are incredibly violent local storms that extend to the ground with winds that can reach 300 mph. They can uproot trees, destroy buildings and turn harmless objects into deadly missiles in a matter of seconds. Damage paths can exceed one mile wide and 50 miles long.
Definitions:
Types of Shelter Areas
The best protection in a tornado is usually an underground area. The best above ground areas in a building are:
Pre-Action
Immediate Action
Although earthquakes are rare in this region of the country, they can occur without warning. Some earthquakes are instantaneous tremors and others are significant sustained events followed by aftershock. Once a significant earthquake begins, building occupants must take immediate action. Individuals should take emergency action on their own and additional actions will be implemented after the quake stops.
If indoors, watch for falling objects such as light fixtures, bookcases, cabinets, shelves and other furniture that might slide or topple. Stay away from windows. If in danger, get under a table or desk, into a corner away from windows or into a structurally strong location such as a hallway by a pillar.
Lightning strikes to individuals are rare but can be deadly. When thunder roars, go indoors. If you can hear thunder, then lightning is close enough to strike.
In order to address lightning hazards associated with sporting events and similar outdoor activities on campus, GWU has developed and implemented an Athletic Department Lightning Policy. Provided as Attachment 1-3B, the policy establishes procedures necessary in order to identify lightning events, recognize lightning warning systems, and seek suitable shelter to prevent potential lightning strikes. Under this policy, the primary monitoring and notification system utilized at GWU for lightning is a detection system which is located at the Soccer Press Box at Greene Harbison Stadium.
For additional details and supplemental information regarding the GWU Athletic Department Lightning Policy, refer to Attachment 1-3B.
No matter what kind of severe weather is present, seeking shelter indoors is the safest action to be taken.
Fires can have several causes and sources of fuel. Most deaths in a fire are caused by smoke inhalation. It is important to remember that the normal evacuation path could be towards the fire. In these events, alternate routes directed away from the fire should be used. At no time will employees attempt to contain a fire that has progressed past the initial small stage. Explosions can have numerous causes. The results of explosions can range from fires to weakened or collapsed structures.
All fire drills will be coordinated with GWU-PD and the local fire department, and will be conducted on a bi-annual schedule for residence halls and annually for administration and academic buildings. All personnel and students occupying the building will participate in the drills.
Further information regarding fire drills and general fire safety procedures are provided in Section 5 of the GWU-RMP.
The GWU Campus Community may become aware of a violent act by the sounds of an explosion, gunfire, scuffling or by observation of events that could only be intentional acts of violence. Regardless of the situation, life-threatening acts should be reported immediately by calling emergency services (911) and GWU-PD immediately thereafter. The following procedures should be followed in the event of a violent crime:
Procedures for All Violent Crime/Accidents
Shelter in Place: Should a violent incident occur that would have the potential to spread to other parts of the campus, a SHELTER IN PLACE will be issued by the GWU-PD. Emergency sirens, GWU will activate LiveSafe to alert the University community via text messaging, email, phone, . Lock or barricade yourself in an office or classroom. No one is to leave or enter the building in SHELTER IN PLACE. The purpose of a SHELTER IN PLACE is to keep a situation/incident from spreading to different parts of the Campus. A SHELTER IN PLACE is also to keep unwanted persons/people from gaining access to the building.
An active shooter is a person who is actively threatening lives or apparently prepared to threaten lives in a populated area. These situations require immediate law enforcement resources to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to victims. Responding law enforcement agencies will provide information and direction if this occurs. The following are suggestions that may be followed, depending on the situation, in the event of an active shooter on campus:
If the shooter is outside the building:
If the shooter is inside the building:
If the shooter comes into your classroom or office:
WHAT TO DO IF TAKEN HOSTAGE:
A person may become aware of a bomb threat by a telephone call, E-Mail, letter, etc. The person shall notify emergency services (911) then GWU-PD immediately after getting as much information as possible.
IF EVACUATION HAS BEEN DECIDED, NO ONE SHALL ENTER THE BUILDING UNTIL GWU-PD HAS GIVEN AN ALL CLEAR ANNOUNCEMENT
All Emergency Medical Treatment will be provided and coordinated by Cleveland County Emergency Medical Services.
In the event a student is ill, they may be referred to Campus Student Health Clinic, Shelby Medical Family Practice, Urgent Care or Cleveland Regional Hospital. (24 hours a day-704-434-2281 a doctor can be paged only when necessary). In the cases of severe illness, do not attempt to move a student and do not transport a student in your vehicle. Call emergency services (911) then contact GWU-PD for illness / medical emergencies.
In the event that a medical emergency requires the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator, locations at GWU are as follows:
To use the AED:
When the door of any AED located on campus is opened, a local alarm will start sounding. Leave the door open, because at the same time an outgoing call is transmitted to GWU-PD. This will take approximately 5 seconds. You will not be able to talk to anyone; this is just to notify GWU-PD that there is an emergency at the AED location and they need to respond. It will give them the exact location of the activated AED through their caller ID, both in the office and on the Officer on Duty’s cell phone. This is not a call to emergency services. Make sure someone calls emergency services.
Most campus demonstrations such as authorized solicitors, marches, meetings, picketing and rallies will be peaceful and non-obstructive. A campus demonstration should not be disrupted unless one or more of the following conditions exists as a result of the demonstration:
If any of these conditions exist, GWU-PD should be notified and will be responsible for contacting and informing the CRT or other appropriate staff.
In the event that Operations or Gardner-Webb University Police find it necessary to restrict access to the campus for any given reason. University Police will coordinate through utilizing local law enforcement agencies
A major power outage may not in itself be destructive, but a possible resulting panic or fire could endanger life and property. Panic can be partially avoided by an immediate decision on the need to cancel classes or meetings in progress or to evacuate the building. Depending on the severity of the emergency, building lighting may not provide sufficient illumination in corridors and stairs for safe exiting. It is therefore advisable to have a flashlight available for emergencies.
It is important to note that buildings are equipped with emergency lighting that is designed to provide approximately 60-minutes of lighting in the event of power loss. Following the 60-minutes, the illumination may no longer operate and the situation will be elevated to a critical incident requiring response from the Crisis Response Team.
