A sometimes challenging, though always rewarding accomplishment for the college emergency manager/coordinator is building regional relationships throughout their service area. Many colleges have numerous locations/campuses where they offer seminars, workshops, and classroom instruction. In order to be successful each college needs to know their regional emergency partners prior to an incident. These regional partners can assist with training, planning, and serving as valuable resources for various activities.
Regional partners include any organizations or companies that might have specialized equipment or resources available that might assist a college in preparing, responding, and recovering from an emergency. A good example of partner resources would be a large chemical company in the service region. The company will have trained hazmat personnel that may be able to assist the college with training and responding to a hazmat incident on campus. Often these companies and organizations are willing to provide free training for the college because having trained individuals in the community can provide assistance for the company should a major incident occur. If the college is located near a railway, the railway will either have heavy equipment or have contacts to obtain heavy equipment that might be useful should there be a need to use heavy duty equipment on campus. As state education budgets continue to shrink, it is imperative that strong working relationships be forged to meet the challenges facing higher education today.
Each state, county and city has an emergency management office that is responsible for all hazard emergency management which includes: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery efforts. In some localities, the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is the name of the group. Local government administration offices can provide contact information for the person or group responsible for these services in a specific locality. Simply offering to host a meeting for your local emergency management office can provide an opportunity to get to know your local contacts. Local contacts can introduce college officials to regional and state emergency management professionals. The LEPC will usually be very willing to include colleges/universities as a member of their committee because they will be an asset to the community in response to an incident/emergency in their region.
In addition to the local emergency management office, other local agencies can be of assistance in the planning and training areas such as the health department, local law enforcement, fire and rescue departments, etc. These organizations have a wealth of information and resources that they can provide for distribution to the college community including printed materials, sometimes PowerPoint presentations, and videos. They are available for consultation and can provide workshops for employees and serve as speakers for student groups and classes. These organizations can provide assistance in the development of a College Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT provides disaster preparedness training to individuals in basic disaster response skills. CERT members can help their neighbors or help at the workplace when an event occurs and there are not enough responders or there is a delay in responders arriving on the scene of the incident.
Local agencies and private organizations located in your service area may have supplies that the college may need in the event of an emergency. Many grocery store chains and large box stores will donate food and water. Knowledge of the available resources in your area and pre-planning to obtain them will provide expedited distribution in an emergency. In addition, when the donors learn of resources the college has available; it will be a benefit to them in preparing their own emergency response plan. Collaboration is key in successful emergency planning and management of an incident.
Area service organizations such as the American Red Cross provide first aid/CPR training to various campus constituents. These organizations will also be a very valuable asset in the event of an incident/emergency on campus or the campus’ community. Having these groups visit the college will enhance the groups understanding what are available and what resources may be needed in an emergency.
A very important point to mention is that there may be on campus an employee or student who has specialized training or skills that could be very useful in the event of an emergency. For example, a student or faculty/staff member who is involved in a community amateur radio club may be able to assist with connecting the college emergency coordinator with the group’s leader. This allows the group to become a partner in the college’s emergency planning and response.
Other organizations in the college’s community that can be called upon for assistance are area churches/synagogues, which may help house individuals from campus during emergencies. If dorms are not available for housing due to a tornado or lack of electricity, then an area church/synagogue may have an area suitable for temporary housing of students. It is important to know what is available throughout the college’s community prior to an incident/emergency occurrence and to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the organization.
Each state has a Department of Emergency Management with various offices that can assist a college with planning, exercising, and possible funding to assist with training. These departments schedule training that is usually free to those involved in emergency management. There may also be a grant department within the organization that assists with obtaining grants for items such as a "Building a Disaster Resistant University (DRU)."
By having someone on staff trained as an ICS Instructor, the college can schedule training during in-service or other non-scheduled instruction days in order to meet National Incident Management System (NIMS) requirements. Inviting local emergency management officials to participate either as students or presenters can help increase collaboration. All colleges/universities are required to meet NIMS guidelines.
In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is split into regions each with a Regional Coordinator. Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) is located in Region IV. The Regional Coordinator is a very important person with whom to build a relationship. This individual can assist with scheduling training for the college, providing information, and helping with obtaining assistance from the various VDEM departments.
In Region IV, there is a College and University forum, a State Agency Leadership Team, and an Emergency Managers Roundtable (comprised of local emergency managers) that meet quarterly. These meetings are open to the college emergency managers/coordinators and other senior college administrators.
The State Agency Leadership Team meetings allow representatives from various state agencies from the region to meet and collaborate on issues such as winter weather preparedness initiatives, changes in policy, training and exercise needs, resource sharing, etc. By participating in this forum, the college emergency manager/coordinator will have a better understanding of the various roles of the regional state agencies and learn what resources are available from them.
The Regional Emergency Managers Roundtable is held quarterly and is facilitated by the VDEM Regional Coordinator. This meeting allows the county and city emergency managers to discuss regional concerns as they relate to emergency planning and emergency preparedness to include: training needs; exercises; grant funding updates, etc. It also gives localities the opportunity to update the group on any regional issues or concerns. Information on federal and state policy changes or initiatives are also discussed.
Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) and other colleges/universities rotate as the hosts for the college forums. These forums provide a roundtable discussion of issues related to emergency planning and training. The forum has featured speakers on various issues including: mental health issues, the National Weather Service, and COOP planning.
Each year, VDEM holds regional Improvement Planning Workshops (IPW) to discuss training and exercises for the following year. Since the local emergency managers participate in the IPW, there is an opportunity to discuss collaborative effort in exercises, thereby making the college a partner in planning and participating in drills.
Other valuable resources at the IPW Meeting are VDEM Training and Exercise Staff and the contractors who work with VDEM to plan and design exercises. These individuals are knowledgeable and have extensive experience in designing training activities of various scope and types. College emergency managers/coordinators can participate in exercises through hosting an exercise, being an evaluator (if trained to do so), or as an observer. These opportunities are an excellent means by which to obtain both the knowledge and experience to apply to the planning of their own in-house exercises, or to be better prepared to fill roles in local exercises, if called upon to assist.
VDEM offers two Emergency Management Academies each year in Region IV (in the fall and spring) which offer training in various courses. A survey is emailed to the regional participants and their input is requested for which classes are needed. This approach to training in conjunction with exercise participation has enabled Region IV to be better prepared and trained to effectively handle various emergencies. These courses have assisted those in the region interested in achieving the Advance Professional Series (APS) certification from FEMA. It has also allowed the key personnel completing these courses to network with other emergency management coordinators and to develop collaborative relationships.
Other opportunities exist for colleges/universities to participate in training. Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) received the Community College Citizen Preparedness Grant, which provided train-the-trainer for the Risk Manager and Administration of Justice Program Head to teach a FEMA-approved two-hour Citizen Preparedness Course to students, faculty, employees and their families, as well as local businesses, community organizations and local governments served by the college and the public at large. The Citizen Preparedness Course curriculum helps participants learn how to preserve life and minimize injuries during and following a disaster. It covers a wide variety of topics, including threat awareness and assessment and how to prepare for and recover from natural and man-made disasters.
SWCC was one of 30 institutions nationwide selected to host FEMA’s L-363 Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Higher Education in 2012. This course is designed to be delivered to teams of campus personnel who are responsible for creating, reviewing, implementing and exercising emergency operations plans. It includes the following topics: the phases of emergency management; identifying hazards and using a risk assessment process; responding using ICS and setting up an Emergency Operations Center; partnering with the community; developing plans; training and testing the plans; and engaging the campus community.
Although ICS 100 and ICS 200 are available online, the SWCC Risk Manager has worked with the Russell County Emergency Management Office to jointly conduct instructor led training during in-service occurring at the beginning of both fall and spring semesters for new employees or new supervisors. This has allowed both the college and the county to address issues that are specific to the college’s service area and provide an opportunity to discuss emergency preparedness for the region. This is one example of how a college can involve the local emergency management office.
SWCC’s Campus Police Chief has also worked with service area law enforcement agencies to provide training. The Russell County Sheriff’s Office provided emergency preparedness training and basic self-defense techniques. Another local law enforcement agency conducted a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) analysis for the college free-of-charge.
SWCC hosted the Regional Law Enforcement Academy’s Active Shooter exercise during Spring Break in 2011. Key college employees were allowed to observe the exercise thereby increasing their knowledge of how this situation would be handled in case of an actual incident. The exercises provided local law enforcement agencies to broadening their knowledge of the building layout as well as the various functions that occur on campus in addition to instruction.
In collaboration with the Administration of Justice Program’s annual Law Enforcement Day, many local and state law enforcement agencies participated in various exercise scenarios including a school bus hostage situation, an armed student in a classroom, and a demonstration of how a canine could be used to assist in bomb or drug detection. The Risk Manager has worked closely with the ADJ faculty to provide emergency training programs for faculty, staff, and students.
Through regional collaboration, the college has been a partner in designing various workshops, tabletops, and exercises such as a campus shooting incident, pandemic, earthquake drill, tornado drill, chemistry lab fire, and a highway chemical spill requiring sheltering in place. All of the partners learned that they had unique issues, needs, various skills or resources that could be shared in the case of an actual incident/emergency. For example, one of the local grocery chains had stated that they would share refrigerated trucks for temporary morgue use. The group quickly learned that a food truck could not be used as a temporary morgue and then reused again to carry food. This provided the group with valuable information for training.
The SWCC Campus Police Department hosts quarterly law enforcement meetings of the various agencies in the college’s service region to discuss issues of importance to all parties. This meeting includes agencies such as local police, sheriff’s departments, forestry, game warden, state police, and any other federal agencies that may be interested in discussing particular issues.
SWCC participates in the Ready.gov program annually and provides preparedness programs both on and off campus. Ready is a national public service advertising campaign to encourage and educate individuals about emergency preparedness by being informed, making a plan, building a kit and getting involved in their community. By offering these programs annually, it allows the college to offer these programs to new students. It also offers an opportunity to discuss the college’s emergency and contingency of operations plans. This is particularly important in the various regions of the U.S. that are susceptible to earthquakes, severe winter weather, tornados, and hurricanes. A student from the Miami area may not really understand or be prepared for the severe winter weather that can occur in North Dakota.
Another program the college participates in annually is the DRIVE SMART Virginia. DRIVE SMART Virginia is dedicated to raising traffic safety awareness and educating drivers in order to reduce injuries and save lives on the roadways. DRIVE SMART offers free educational materials related to distracted driving, bicyclists, pedestrians, and workplace programs that can be adapted for use from payroll stuffers to PowerPoint presentations. The college works with local law enforcement agencies to present information/lectures on traffic safety awareness.
SWCC developed a safety video for the students, faculty, and staff which allowed an opportunity for several Administration of Justice students, faculty, and campus police officers to participate in the production. This is shown to students each semester. It has aided in increasing safety and emergency preparedness awareness to our campus community.
The college Risk Manager must meet federal, state, and local guidelines, which can rapidly change depending upon any or all hazard incidents/emergencies. This requires updating skills and obtaining the necessary training in order to keep current, as well as, keep the college community as prepared as possible for any all hazard incident/emergency. The best way to keep abreast of the legislative changes, best practices, and training is to form collaborate relationships with the college’s local, regional, state, and private organizations. A college is not going to be able to handle a significant incident/emergency event by itself. If a significant incident/event occurs on campus or in the adjacent campus area, the college is going to more than likely need assistance from several agencies/organizations. State and federal agencies are going to arrive; and depending upon how the college is set-up, there may be a governing board or state system also involved. In addition, the media will arrive quickly and if the college does not have a large public information office, then area agencies may be able to assist by loaning their public information officers.
It is much better to know the individuals that the college will be working with prior to meeting the individuals on the day an incident/event occurs. This includes governing boards, state system key personnel, agencies that may be involved, as well as other resources. As individuals retire or leave for other positions, the college emergency coordinator must connect with new emergency management individuals and continuously work on building new relationships. The process requires time, effort, and patience to develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships.
The college Risk Manager must continuously explore ways to be involved in the community and establish working relationships with both inside the campus and outside of the campus in order to successfully prepare for emergencies. By connecting with peers from other colleges/universities, the Risk Manager can learn about best practices, preparedness and response issues unique to the campus environment, and resources that may be able to be shared between regional colleges/universities or colleges/universities that are members of a large system. Also, by working with local, state and federal agencies, the Risk Manager can learn of training opportunities and resources that can be directed to the individual college to enhance preparedness and response efforts. There are many collaborative opportunities available if the Risk Manager will make the connections and become involved in the community.