All Cornell employees to receive an 'Emergency Response Guide'

By Susan S. Lang

The four crippling hurricanes that struck Florida recently are a reminder that disaster can strike anytime, anywhere. In case of an emergency, be it a hazardous materials spill, power failure, fire, civil disorder, snow storm, flooding or tornado, every department on campus should be prepared with an emergency response plan. Now, thanks to Cornell's Central Emergency Planning Team (CEPT), every employee at Cornell will soon have a copy of the "Cornell Emergency Response Guide."

Phil Cox, director of facilities management and chair of Cornell's Central Emergency Planning Team, holds a copy of the of the new emergency booklet. Robert Barker/University Photography

The booklet, designed in a flip-chart format, gives clear and concise instructions about what to do if an emergency -- from a bomb threat to an earthquake -- occurs on campus.

"The booklet is designed to give all employees an easy-access reference guide to emergencies," said Dan Maas, emergency and event management coordinator in Environmental Health and Safety, and one of those who spearheaded CEPT's effort to produce the Cornell-specific guide. "It tells you what to do right away in an emergency. In addition to every employee receiving the booklet, departments are encouraged to leave a copy next to every shared telephone on campus."

Although severe ice storms and blizzards are perhaps the most likely emergencies to occur in the coming months in this area, winter storms aren't the only hazard for which people should prepare, said Phil Cox, Cornell director of facilities management and chair of CEPT. Any number of emergencies, such as smoke, electrical outages, workplace violence, suspicious mail or animal incidents, can happen on campus, he warned. CEPT has been working for the past five years to ensure that Cornell has a campuswide emergency response plan and that every college and division has individual plans.

"Although dialing 911 will prompt immediate police, fire or medical help to preserve life or property, seconds count in emergencies," said Cox. "This guide gives people information at their fingertips about what to do if something happens. We believe that having a quick reference guide on hand is valuable to guide people in an emergency. But perhaps even more important is that the booklet will help raise awareness that emergency planning is everyone's responsibility."

He notes that to reach 911 emergency personnel on campus phones, people should not dial "5" or "9" before the three-digit emergency number.

The guide will be distributed to faculty and staff members by emergency coordinators in every college and division on campus. Campus Life will deliver the guide to apartments in graduate student housing. All students will receive an e-mail describing the guide and giving them a link to its site on the Cornell Web site. In addition, resident advisers will discuss emergency response in floor meetings.

"Even a little bit of advance thought and planning can help immensely when people are faced with unexpected events," Cox said.

The Office of Risk Management provided funding for the emergency guide, which was produced by the Division of Communications and Media Relations.

For more information on emergency planning, see CEPT's Web site at http://web.Cornell.edu/Emergency/. It contains a wide range of information, including the university's general emergency plan, links to the National Weather Service, the university operating status, a personal plan guide and much more.