Emergency Response & Evacuation Plan
Upon the notification of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students and/or employees occurring on the campus, staff and students are expected to abide by the following:
1. All emergencies or dangerous situations occurring on campus or in the immediate area of the campus should be reported to the School Director. The Director serves as the Campus Security Authority.
2. In most cases, the School Director has the responsibility to confirm the existence and significance of the emergency using appropriate resources that may include local law enforcement, fire department, news reports, eye witnesses, and recognizable evidence.
3. Once confirmed, the Director must decide upon the necessary action and notifications needed to best protect the safety of those in the school. Whenever possible, professional advice from local authorities should be sought especially in cases where the notification of the dangerous situation may compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
4. Necessary action may include contacting local emergency personnel, evacuation, lock down, relocation to a safer area of the school, etc.
5. The Director or designee will serve as the liaison between the school and local authorities. All emergency occurrences are reported to the Director of Administration for use in required reports submitted by the Director of Administration on an annual basis.
6. School personnel and students should immediately contact emergency assistance—police, fire, and ambulance—in life threatening situations. The Director should be notified immediately when emergency assistance is called.
In the case of FIRE:
1. The Director is responsible to see that local emergency services are promptly notified (example police, fire, etc.) once the emergency is known.
2. Students and clients will be instructed by staff to immediately stop what they are doing and exit the building safely and to report immediately to the emergency rendezvous location. The emergency rendezvous site is the upper parking lot at the corner of Fisher Lane and Rock Creek Mill Rd.
3. Students are to report to their classroom instructors once they arrive at the rendezvous site. All staff and students are required to stay at the emergency location until instructed otherwise.
4. Instructors are responsible for bringing the class sign in sheet with them as they direct students toward the nearest exit. Exits are located in the main lobby and the rear hall next to Studio B.
5. Shortly after arriving at the evacuation location, faculty and administrative staff will attempt to record the names of all students and staff present. After an initial search, the names of students who signed in at class that did not report to the emergency rendezvous will be reported to local authorities in case they may still be in the building.
6. Students will not be allowed to return to the campus until local authorities advise the building is safe to re-enter. The Director or his/her designee, upon receipt of such instruction, will notify staff and students to return to the building.
7. As soon as possible after returning to class, faculty will take attendance to make sure all students are accounted for. The Director of Administration is responsible for confirming all staff are present. Instructors will be asked to hand in their class attendance sheets to the Director of Administration who will review the sheets and attempt to confirm the safety of any student who signed in at the beginning of class that had not returned.
In case of WEATHER EMERGENCY:
Upon determining dangerous weather conditions exist, staff will instruct students and patrons to immediately stop what they are doing and proceed to designated shelter areas within the building (Studio C and A)
Once the weather condition has been evaluated, the Director or designee will investigate the safety of and reasonability of exiting the shelter area(s) safely.
In the event of an electrical outage, students and staff are to turn off all electrical appliances, computers, and peripheral equipment or at the surge protector, if applicable.
In the case of FLOODING:
As soon as staff is made aware of an area(s) within the building of flood, the Director or designee will notify the facilities manager and determine necessary action to better assure the safety of all persons in the area.
The facilities manager will set up cones and signs to advise no entry for safety purposes. If necessary, students may be re-assigned work areas where conditions are acceptable.
Upon repair and removal of flood debris, water, etc., students will be allowed to re-enter the affected area(s).
In extreme cases where it is necessary to evacuate the building, staff will notify students and clients of the need to exit the building and to report to designated evacuation locations for sign in. If fire and city authorities advise against re-entering the building, the Director/designee will notify staff and instruct students to report their names to the faculty and/or administrative staff before they leave the site.
Method of Notification:
1. Each sound proof control room has a phone which can be used to notify staff of an emergency situation.
2. A mass text or individual text can be sent to instructors to advise them of the emergency situation along with instructions.
3. The school’s ‘P.A.’ system is another means of communicating emergencies.
4. As circumstances permit, signs and/or staff may be positioned at all entrances and exits advising entering students, staff and clients of the situation with instruction on what actions to take along with contact information as campus authorities deem appropriate.
5. If time permits, evening students may be contacted by phone to advise them of the situation and given instruction.