Emergency Response Procedures

All students are encouraged to be familiar with the university's evacuation plans in case of emergencies. Additionally, we encourage students to create a proactive plan specific to them and their needs for safe egress from university facilities, as every student must play a major part in ensuring their own safety. Below are some helpful ideas and questions to ask when building their individualized plan for safe egress in emergency situations.

Suggestions for Students with Disabilities

  • Program Public Safety's phone number (386-822-7300) into your cell phone. Carry your cell phone with you at all times.
  • In every building you utilize - whether academic, residential or otherwise - familiarize yourself with posted evacuation plans when available, as well as all fire exits, doors and stairwells.
  • If you will need assistance in an emergency, identify someone in advance in every one of your collegiate settings (in each class, for instance) who can provide some level of assistance. Please know that no one (including resident assistants or student leaders) is expected to unduly endanger themselves in order to assist with the evacuation of others, but there are ways others can aid in your evacuation (e.g., by alerting emergency personnel to your location or - for persons with visual impairments - guiding you to safety with verbal and physical direction).
  • Inform others of your plans in times in which you may be alone in any campus buildings for long periods of time (computer labs, study areas, etc.).
  • Any student - whether registered for accommodations due to a disability or not - can request a meeting with the Accessibility Services Center to help in building individualized plans for safe egress in instances of emergency. The Accessibility Services Center will call on other pertinent departments to help students build a proactive plan.
  • During a building evacuation, all individuals should exit unless they are not able to do so.
  • Those who cannot exit a building safely should go to the preferred area of rescue to await emergency personnel. Do not use an elevator when fire alarms have activated.
  • Preferred areas of rescue in most buildings are the stairwells. If this is not available (e.g., due to smoke in the stairwell), go to a room with an exterior window, note the room number, close the door and call Public Safety or 911 to alert them to your location and what assistance you will need. Use the window to signal to those outside of your location.

University Procedures for Assisting Students with Disabilities

  1. At the beginning of each semester, the Accessibility Services Center and the Department of Residential Living and Learning will provide a list to Public Safety of residential students who may need additional assistance during an evacuation of a residential building.
  2. In the event of an evacuation of a residential building, the Public Safety dispatcher will alert responding Public Safety officers and emergency personnel of any student from the provided list who will need additional assistance.
  3. The Public Safety dispatcher will also field calls - directing any calls pertaining to specific locations of persons in danger to emergency responders. Public Safety officers and emergency response personnel will check any areas of rescue (in any building on campus) when evacuating a building, whether alerted to someone's presence there or not. Public Safety and emergency responders will also check every room in the building needing to be evacuated.
  4. Lifting or transporting individuals will only be performed in cases of extreme emergency. Be aware that Public Safety, other staff members and students are not trained by the university for this role.
  5. Evacuation drills are held at least once per semester in all residential facilities.

Please direct any questions concerning this information to the Accessibility Services Center or Public Safety.