Emergency Procedures

Campus Safety: environmental safety, security, emergency management

Security call (509) 793-2286

All Calls to 9-1-1 must also be reported to Campus Safety

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

The college has established the following procedures to help prevent or minimize injury to BBCC students, employees, and visitors in the event of an emergency. Students and employees are encouraged to review and learn the steps for each emergency scenario*, as well as familiarize themselves with the location of all first-aid stations, manual fire alarm boxes, and fire extinguishers.
Emergency maps posted in classrooms and offices point out the location of these items as well as the evacuation routes and assembly areas.

*All calls to 911 must also be reported to Campus Safety at 509.793.2286.
*Fill out Incident/Accident form for all incidents.

SEXUAL ASSAULT

Call 911 

Call Campus Safety (509) 793-2286

Rape is a crime of violence. For the rape victims, it often is an experience of fear, loss of control, humiliation, and violence. Rape victims may experience a full range of emotional reactions. It is extremely beneficial for rape victims to seek emotional support regarding the assault. Monitor any school intervention in a rape incident with the following checklist.

  • If the rape occurred on campus, secure the crime scene and if necessary move the victim to a safe location if able to be moved
  • If possible obtain names and contact information from witnesses present.
  • Document as much information as is possible regarding the incident (remember that all clothing, vehicles etc., could be considered evidence – DO NOT TOUCH).
  • Provide space on campus for the rape victims and identified peers to receive support services.
  • Notify the College’s Administration.

Medical Emergency

Call 911 

Call Campus Safety    (509) 793-2286

General rules to remember in a medical emergency:

  • Assess the situation and provide first aid/medical care as appropriate within your scope of training.
  • If you have any doubt about the type or extent of injury or illness, MOVE THE PERSON ONLY TO PREVENT FURTHER INJURY OR DEATH IF POSSIBLE
  • Contact Emergency Medical Service (Call 911). Follow the dispatcher’s instructions.
  • Once called, designate someone to direct the ambulance from the parking area.
  • After contacting Emergency Medical Services, initiate immediate first aid if you are so trained.
  • Contact Campus Safety at 509.793.2286.
  • Make sure an Accident Form is completed and submitted within 24 hours of the injury/illness.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION/ASHFALL

  • Faculty will remain calm; advise students to stay in the classroom until ordered to evacuate; turn off electronic equipment in offices and classrooms to prevent damage.
  • BBCC Staff will immediately turn off all electronic equipment to minimize damage, stay indoors until ordered to evacuate (interior air contamination is reduced when doors are kept closed) and wait for status report from your supervisor.
  • Students will remain calm; await direction from Emergency Response Officials. When directed, follow evacuation route to designated Safe Assembly Area; remain at that location until released by authorized BBCC Official.
  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment will be shut down to prevent the intake of ash into Campus buildings.
  • Big Bend Technology will be notified to implement shut down contingencies for College computing operations prior to the HVAC shut down.
  • Exterior doors will be closed; signs posted directing doors be kept closed for the duration of the emergency.
  • All efforts will be made to prevent inhalation of particulates.

TARGETED VIOLENCE/ACTIVE SHOOTER

Call 911 

Call Campus Safety  (509) 793-2286

General rules to follow when dealing with a violent person with a weapon:

  • RUN
  • Have an escape route and plan in mind
  • Leave your belongings behind
  • Keep your hands visible
  •  HIDE
  • Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view
  • Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors
  • Silence your cell phone
  •  FIGHT
  • As a last resort and only when your life is in imminent danger
  • Attempt to incapacitate the shooter
  • Act with physical aggression and throw items at the active shooter

How to act when the police arrive (a.k.a. how to avoid being shot mistakenly by police)

  • Remain calm and follow instructions
  • Put down any items in your hands (i.e., bags, jackets)
  • Raise hands and spread fingers
  • Keep hands visible at all times
  • Avoid quick movements toward officers such as holding on to them for safety
  • Avoid pointing, screaming, or yelling
  • Do not stop to ask officers for help or direction when evacuating

SEVERE WEATHER

What to do During a Severe Weather Watch

  • Be alert for approaching storms.
  • Be ready to take shelter.
  • Monitor the weather warning receiver and local radio and television stations.
  • Avoid use of telephones if lightning is occurring.

What to do During a Severe Weather Warning

  • Begin moving to shelter if revolving funnel cloud(s) are seen and, if possible, report the sighting to 9-1-1.
  • Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Assume the squat position with head protected. Remain there until the tornado has passed.
  • Stay inside the building. If outside and unable to get to a building, lie flat in the nearest ditch, ravine, or culvert with your hands shielding your head.
  • Maintenance & Operations personnel will turn off utilities at the direction of the President and the Maintenance & Operations Team Leaders.
  • Remain in shelter areas until the warning has been terminated. The President or designee will declare the emergency to be over.

What to do After Severe Weather has Passed

  • Check for injuries. Do not attempt to move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of death or further injury. If you must move someone, first stabilize the neck and back, then call for help immediately.
  • Use great caution when leaving a damaged building. Look out for broken glass inside and outside. Be alert for downed power lines and treat all wires as though they are hot.
  • Implement procedures to resume college operations, dismiss or keep students as warranted.
  • Monitor local radio or television stations for official information or instructions.

BOMB THREAT

ALL BOMB THREATS SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY! If you receive a bomb threat, DO NOT TRY AND LOCATE THE BOMB. Instead, notify Campus Safety so they can evaluate the seriousness of the bomb threat, then the President (or designee) will act in a manner that reflects the best safety interests of those under his/her charge and the College. Bomb and other threats may be originated in writing, in person, over the telephone, or related through a second source.
Receiving a Call about a Bomb Threat
When a telephone call is received, try to get two people to listen to the call at the same time. Stay as calm as possible and remember to record as much data as possible about the caller, including the phone number. Complete the Bomb Threat Checklist. If one is not readily available, the following information should be collected:

  • Keep the caller on the phone and communicating as long as you can; the more the caller talks, the more information you may receive. Ask the caller to repeat the initial message and attempt to write down every word he or she says.
  • Ask the caller where the bomb is located and when it will detonate – ASK!
  • Try to distinguish background sounds. There may be traffic noises, music playing or other noises that could help identify the location of the caller.
  • Pay close attention to the voice of the caller, is it
  • Male or female?
  • Calm or excited?
  • Angry or sincere?
  • Immediately after the call is complete, notify the President, or designee, who is responsible for reporting the threat to local emergency response agencies, (e.g., Police, fire department, etc.)

Receiving a Bomb Threat (Other than by Telephone)
If a bomb threat is received by any means other than telephone, do the following:

  • Immediately notify Campus Safety. Campus Safety will examine the situation and notify Administration. The President, or designee, will determine whether an evacuation is necessary.
  • Any document that communicates the threat and/or information – including the envelope or container – about a possible bomb event must be saved, preserved, and protected as evidence. Handle documents as little as possible.
  • If the threat is “graffiti” on a wall or partition, do not touch it. Secure the area so others are prevented from touching it.

EARTHQUAKE

  • Keep calm and remain where you are unless you are in a stairway, elevator, or walkway close to/under buildings; seek shelter away from these areas.
  • If indoors, stay there until the quake subsides. Take shelter under or against the side of your desk, a table, near an inside wall, a corner, and around building columns. Stay away from windows, glass walls, shelves, equipment, and exterior doors.
  • If outdoors, stay there until the quake subsides. Keep away from buildings, trees, and wires. Go to an open space such as a college parking lot.
  • Do not attempt to enter or leave a building during a quake
  • Assemble at designated Safe Assembly Areas so that a head count can be taken.
  • Remain in sheltered or Safe Assembly Areas until you are advised to do otherwise.
  • After the initial earthquake there will be “after-shocks.” After-shocks may be less intense than the initial shock, but may nonetheless cause additional damage.
  • After the initial shock, evaluate the situation. If possible, notify supervisors of serious hazards or injuries. Attend to the injured and protect them from after-shocks. Shut off utilities, gases, etc.
  • Locate emergency and first aid kits in your area for immediate emergency response needs.
  • Depending on the degree of the earthquake, it may be necessary to evacuate the building(s). Elevators should not be used during or immediately following an earthquake due to possible damage.
  • Follow the general evacuation plan to a designated Safe Assembly Area.
  • Assist persons with injuries and disabilities in exiting the buildings.
  • Use phones only to get emergency help (injury, fire).
  • Due to the volume of people attempting to call others, it is expected that phone lines will be busy for a minimum of 4 hours after an earthquake.

FIRE

Call 911 

Call Campus Safety  (509) 793-2286

What to do During a Fire

  • Sound the alarm by pulling the alarm box nearest your location.
  • Dial 911 and notify the Fire Department. Remain calm and be specific as to the emergency and the building to which emergency personnel should respond.
  • Evacuate the building and ensure occupants are at least 500 feet from the building(s) and out of the fire department and other emergency vehicles’ way.
  • Ensure that people with disabilities have been evacuated.
  • Maintenance & Operations staff and available staff members are to assist handicapped individuals if this has not already been done.
  • Close all doors and windows, including any doors separating sections of the building.
  • Faculty and employees should try to determine if all occupants are out of the building. Building Coordinators need to do the same for employees.
  • If qualified, render first aid as necessary.
  • Keep access roads open for emergency vehicles.
  • Maintenance & Operations Team Leaders will notify utility companies of a break or suspected break in utility lines, which may present an additional hazard.
  • Students and employees shall not re-enter the building until given the ALL CLEAR by Maintenance & Operations or Campus Safety staff.

LOCKDOWN

  • Stay inside buildings and wait out the lockdown. The lockdown will be lifted once law enforcement determines the threat or danger has passed.
  • Continue to monitor Campus Alert System for updated information.
  • Personnel with college-issued two-way radios should listen to their radios for information.
  • Do not use phones to call Security, Maintenance & Operations or the Business Office unless there is an emergency. This ties up limited phone lines needed for incident management.
  • Do not sound the fire alarm to evacuate the building. People may be placed in harm’s way when they are attempting to evacuate the building. If a fire alarm does go off during a lockdown, do not evacuate unless you smell smoke.
  • Be aware of exits if it becomes necessary to flee. Persons should lock themselves in classrooms, residence halls, and offices as a means of protection.
  • Persons should stay low, away from windows, and barricade their door(s) if possible, and use furniture or desks as cover.
  • Cover any windows or openings that have a direct line of sight into the hallway.
  • Shut the blinds or pull the shades down. Turn off the lights and try to give the impression that the room is empty.
  • Put your cell phones on vibrate. Await further instructions over Campus Alert System.
  • Do not make any noise.

Students and staff should not attempt to leave the building until told to do so by security or police personnel.

    The exception to this is when a person believes that they are in more danger in staying in the building than in attempting to escape.

  • If you are outside of a building when a lockdown is announced, if it is safe to do so, run into the nearest building and follow the above lockdown instructions. If it is not safe to run into a building, hide behind a large heavy object (i.e. vehicle, tree).

Procedures for Cancelling Lockdown
After consulting with law enforcement, once the emergency or threat has passed, Security and Maintenance & Operations will notify staff and students of such fact.

  • Maintenance & Operations staff will notify building occupants directly, and
  • Security (or BBT) will send a Lockdown Cancellation message over the Campus Alert System.

EVACUATION

When you are told to evacuate the building:

  • Immediately shut down all hazardous operations (equipment in use, etc.)
  • Leave quickly.
  • As you exit, quickly check nearby restrooms, copier rooms, and other areas for patrons and staff.
  • Accompany and help handicapped personnel, visitors, and any co-worker who appears to need calm direction or assistance.
  • Take with you: your car keys, purse, briefcase, etc. Do not take large or heavy objects.
  • Shut all doors behind you as you go; closed doors can slow the spread of fire, smoke, and water.
  • Proceed as quickly as possible, but in an orderly manner. Hold handrails when you are on stairs.
  • Once out of the building, move away from the structure and go to the staff assembly area. Keep roadways free for emergency vehicles.

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