Emergency Procedures
This section contains the recommended procedures to be observed during specific types of emergencies. These procedures serve as a guide and should be used as such. No guide can cover every conceivable situation and common sense should always prevail. Platt College clearly outlines all exit points in the building, both on the first and second floors.
The following information outlines Emergency Procedures for employees and students in the event of an active emergency.
What To Do If An Active Shooter Is Inside Or Outside The Building
Make a decision, trusting your instincts, to take action to protect yourself to survive the situation. You generally will have three options:
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Run: Can you safely escape? |
Hide: Is there a good place to hide? |
Fight: Will you take out the shooter? |
Run for Safety
If you can and you deem it safe, get out and get to a safe place. Leave belongings behind, but take your cell phone if it is handy.
Hiding in a Safe Place
- Find a hidden location.
- Find protection behind furniture if possible.
- Find a room that locks if you can.
- If possible, close and lock the outside door to the room. Blockade the door with furniture or other heavy objects.
- Close the blinds, turn off the lights, remain quiet, silence cell phones, spread out away from other individuals, and move behind available cover.
- Stay on the floor, away from doors or windows, and do not peek out to see what may be happening.
- Make a plan with others in the room about what you will do if the shooter enters. Make a total commitment to action and act as a team with others.
- Do whatever is necessary to survive the situation.
- If possible and safe to do so, report the location of the assailant.
If Outside When a Shooting Occurs
- Drop to the ground immediately, face down as flat as possible. If within 15-20 feet of a safe place or cover, duck and run to it.
- Move or crawl away from gunfire, trying to utilize any obstructions between you and the gunfire. Remember that many objects of cover may conceal you from sight, but may not be bulletproof.
- When you reach a place of relative safety, stay down and do not move. Do not peek or raise your head in an effort to see what may be happening.
- Wait and listen for directions from law enforcement personnel.
If Suspect is in Close Proximity
- An individual must use their own discretion about when they must engage a shooter for survival.
- Make a plan with others around you as to how you will survive the situation.
- Make a total commitment to action and act as a team with others if possible.
- Do whatever is necessary to survive the situation.
College Evacuation Procedures
In the event of an emergency, employees should use the following procedures to assure an organized evacuation of all students, faculty, staff and visitors in the building. Procedures should always be followed in sequence, unless in evacuation notification.
All evacuations will occur either when an alarm sounds or when an evacuation notice from the phone occurs. Administration will assist in evacuation notification.
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors should promptly proceed to the nearest exit or emergency route in an organized, timely manner.
Faculty members who have students with disabilities in their classes shall designate specific student(s), as well as staff, to provide primary and backup assistance in the evacuation of the disabled person(s) during the emergency.
Elevators should not be considered as an exit option. Once outside, students, faculty, and staff should proceed to the designated assembly area or at least 200 feet from the building. No one should return to the evacuated building until an official emergency personnel give the “all clear” signal.
Seeking Safe Shelter on Campus
During an elevated or high risk condition, students, staff and faculty may be directed to seek safe shelter. This is a precautionary measure aimed at keeping you safe while indoors. Safe shelters on campus include the back stairwell and bathrooms located both upstairs and downstairs in the building.
Shelter in Place
This is a term that may be used in an emergency where hazardous materials may have been released into the atmosphere. This means go indoors and find an interior room or hallway with no or few windows and take refuge there until an evacuation can be safely initiated or an all clear is given. This does not mean locking and sealing off your office or classroom.
Campus Lockdown Protocol
A lockdown is designed to prevent people from entering or leaving a building. Additionally, movement inside the building is to be restricted. The term lockdown will only be used when there is information indicating an imminent threat of danger from an armed or dangerous person(s) on campus. Whenever possible, the specific area(s) affected should be identified in the declaration of a lockdown.
When a lockdown is declared the doors leading outside of the building should be locked (when possible) and people should not exit or enter the building. People should stay where they are and should not exit or enter a classroom, office or other area. If people are in a hallway they should go to the nearest classroom or office.
If you are outside when a lockdown is declared, seek safe shelter (eg. unlocked building, large trees, walls, cars in a parking lot) away from the danger area if known. If a fire alarm is activated during a lockdown, proceed with extreme caution. Wait for the "all clear" to be given before leaving safe shelter.
All Clear
This means the immediate danger is over and that most functions may resume normal operations, occupants may re-enter buildings and/or move about campus without restriction unless specifically directed otherwise.