Community Safety

Reed College Emergency Response Plan

Updated: June 2023

The Reed College Emergency Response Plan (ERP) provides direction in the event of an emergency. The objective of this plan is to facilitate the most effective possible response to likely or actual emergencies impacting the college. The following are key goals this plan:

• Protect life and safety
• Reduce property and environmental damage
• Minimize disruption and economic losses
• Shorten the recovery period

All persons designated to carry out specific responsibilities within the plan are expected to be familiar with the components of this plan, any supporting documents, and their specific role(s).

The College's response to likely or actual emergencies will be conducted within the framework of this plan except when directed otherwise by the President or the President’s appointed representative. The plan includes a chain of command that establishes decision-making authority during an emergency.

Scope and Definition

An emergency is defined as a sudden state of danger that occurs unexpectedly and that demands immediate action to protect the health and safety of individuals within the institution. The following are some examples of emergency situations:

• Bomb threat
• Earthquake
• Explosion
• Fire
• Hazardous materials spill/release
• Hostage situation
• Campus shooting
• Terrorist incident
• Air quality hazard
• Weather hazard

Other emergency procedures can be found here.

Emergency Operations

Emergency operations are defined as actions taken by any part of the college that modify operations specifically to respond to a likely or actual emergency and that are not routine. The following are some examples of actions that may be taken during emergency operations:

• Curtailment of college operations or closure of the college
• Changes in staff or faculty work hours/locations
• Modification of work guidelines related to safety requirements
• Changes in academic schedules
• Acquisition of additional resources, supplemental staff, and/or request for assistance from external entities

Each office or operating area is expected to plan for implementing emergency operations in coordination with the activation of the college’s emergency response plan and under the direction of the designated Incident Commander. Emergency operations may be implemented before an actual emergency situation if the emergency is likely. 

Crisis Management Response Structure

In the event of an emergency, or when an emergency is likely, the Director of Community Safety or designee will contact the Executive Team, consisting of the President and Vice Presidents of the college, to report the situation.

The Executive Team will convene (in person or remotely) and decide whether to declare an actual or likely state of emergency. If an emergency is deemed to be occurring or likely, the President or designee will appoint an Incident Commander (IC) and authorize the activation of the Emergency Response Team (ERT). The IC will, in collaboration with members of the ERT, assess the nature and scope of the situation and direct the college’s response as described by this plan and supporting documents. Actions by the IC/ERT may include one or more of the following:

• Activation of an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), either in-person or virtual
• Notification of the campus community by use of any available communications platform appropriate to the circumstances
• Implementation of emergency operations actions for one or more college offices or areas
• Recommendations to the Executive Team for implementation of college-wide actions

The ERT consists of representatives from Community Safety, computer and information services, environmental health and safety, facilities services, public affairs, student life, residence life, health and counseling, human resources, conference and events planning, and food services.

Update and Drill

The Director of Community Safety, in collaboration with ERT members,  will review and update this plan each June or more frequently, as needed. ERT members will practice emergency procedures on a regular basis and will obtain training or retraining as needed.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

The manner in which college personnel and equipment are utilized during an emergency will be determined by the ERT under the direction of the Director of Community Safety or their designee. The ERP will remain in effect until the president or their designee deems the college ready to return to normal operation.

EMERGENCY LEVEL DEFINITIONS AND RESPONSES

In all types of emergencies, once outside agencies arrive on the scene (i.e., Police Department, Fire Bureau, Emergency Management Agency personnel, etc.) these agencies will assume control of the operations. The Reed ERT and EOC will act as resources to these responders.

The following definitions of emergency levels determine the type of response:

Level 1 Emergency 

(least serious)

Characteristics

• May involve threat of incident rather than actual incident
• May be addressed with college personnel and resources
• Outside assistance may be called upon
• May be limited to small area of campus
• Potential impact on health, safety, or property
• May interrupt classes and college operations for limited time (up to half a day)

Examples

• Unplanned power outage
• Approaching blizzard, tornado, or other natural event
• Water pipe break
• Unidentified odor
• Injured, missing, or deceased individual
• Mild pandemic outbreak

Response Profile

• Dispatcher notifies Director of Community Safety & Chief Technology Officer
• Director of Community Safety notifies Executive Team
• Executive Team & Director of Community Safety decides whether or not to activate ERT & EOC
• Assess extent of incident impact on health, safety, property
• Decide whether evacuation is required; initiate as needed
• Decide whether medical or other outside assistance is required; contact as needed
• Decide on notification to Reed community; send message(s); update web site as needed
• Account for students, personnel, and visitors involved in incident
• Decide on continuity of classes and college operations; notify community
• Update community on progress and final resolution of incident
• Determine incident follow-up plan

Level 2 Emergency

Characteristics

• Requires outside assistance, primarily from local services
• May involve large portions or all of campus
• Potential loss of life
• Potential serious impact on health, safety, or property
• Will interrupt classes and college operations for more than half a day
• Pandemic outbreak

Examples

• Ice storm, blizzard, or other weather event 
• Earthquake (minimal structural damage)
• Bomb threat
• Hazardous materials release/spill
• Widespread/prolonged power outage
• Violence or civil disturbance

Response Profile

• Dispatcher notifies Director of Community Safety & Chief Technology Officer
• Director of Community Safety notifies Executive Team
• Director of Community Safety Activates ERT & EOC
• Assess extent of incident impact on life, health, safety, property
• Decide whether evacuation is required; initiate as needed
• Decide whether medical or other outside assistance is required; contact as needed
• Notification to Reed community; send message(s); update web site
• Account for all students, personnel, and visitors
• If no evacuation needed, ensure adequate food, water, heat, medical supplies, waste disposal, etc. for campus residents
• Decide on continuity of classes and college operations; notify community
• Establish media center; establish communication channels with relatives, government agencies, vendors, the public, etc.
• Update community on progress and final resolution of incident
• Determine incident follow-up plan

Level 3 Emergency

(most serious)

Characteristics

• Requires outside assistance from local, possibly state & federal services
• Involves all of campus
• Potential loss of life
• Severe impact on health, safety, or property
• Classes and college operations suspended for an extended period
• Long-term effects on the college

Examples

• Shooting
• Uncontained fire
• Tornado impact, other severe weather event
• Major earthquake (serious structural damage)
• Explosion
• Uncontained bio-, chemical-, or nuclear hazard
• Terrorist incident
• Pandemic outbreak

Response Profile

• Contact emergency responders and assist them as needed
• Dispatcher notifies Director of Community Safety & Chief Technology Officer
• Director of Community Safety notifies Executive Team
• Director of Community Safety Activates ERT & EOC
• Assess extent of incident impact on life, health, safety, property
• Decide whether evacuation is required; initiate as needed
• Decide whether medical or other outside assistance is required; contact as needed
• Notification to Reed community; send message(s); update web site
• Activate emergency web site and other emergency communications channels as needed
• Account for all students, personnel, and visitors
• If no evacuation needed or possible, ensure adequate food, water, heat, medical supplies, waste disposal, etc. for campus residents
• Decide on resumption of classes and college operations; notify community
• Establish media center; establish communication channels with relatives, government agencies, vendors, the public, etc.
• Update community on progress and final resolution of incident
• Determine incident follow-up plan

Clery Act Compliance Information

In accordance with notification requirements on the Clery Act, the college is obligated to make notifications to the campus community under specific circumstances. The following is the college's plan for making these notifications.

Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications

Reed College believes that communicating with members of the college community is essential to maintaining a safe, secure, and crime-free environment. 

Emergency Notifications

Reed College will immediately notify the campus community upon confirmation of an emergency or dangerous situation. Emergency Notifications alert the community to a significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on campus, or involving an immediate and ongoing threat to the health or safety of students or employees. Those with the authority to issue Emergency Notifications are the chair of the Emergency Response Team, an acting Incident Commander, the Vice President of Student Life, and the director of Environmental Health and Safety. The college will take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the college community. Depending on the nature of the emergency or dangerous situation, these steps may include, but are not limited to: activation of the campus Emergency Response Team, activation of the college incident command system, securing all residence hall and campus building entry points, directing students and employees to safe locations, coordinating with local police and fire departments, coordinating with campus Environmental Health and Safety responders, coordinating with campus facilities staff.

Timely Warnings

Timely Warning Notices alert the Reed community to Clery Act crimes that have already occurred, but represent a potentially serious and continuing threat to the community. Those with the authority to issue a Timely Warning Notice are the chair of the Emergency Response Team, an acting Incident Commander, the Vice President of Student Life, and the director of Environmental Health and Safety. The director of Community Safety or designee, the director of public affairs, or a member of the executive team (composed of the college president and five college vice presidents) is responsible for dispensing these warnings and notifications, which will normally be communicated via a variety of methods depending on the situation. 

Reed has an emergency notification system that may be activated by Community Safety, members of the executive team, or the college’s communications staff. All Reed students, faculty, and staff can manage their personal Campus Alert settings via the website https://www.reed.edu/emergency-alert/. 

The system has the following capabilities:

• Email alerts: all students, staff, and faculty are automatically enrolled for email alerts through their college emails. 
• Phone messages: all college phones may be selected for voice alerts. Additionally, faculty, staff, and students may opt-in to receive alerts on multiple phone numbers including mobile and land-line phones. 
• Text messages: faculty, staff, and students may opt-in to receive text message alerts on multiple devices. 
• Telephone broadcast system: The Reed phone system has the ability to send pre-recorded audio messages to all speaker phones on campus. Use of this system is intended for emergencies where any delay in notification is likely to increase the risk of death or serious physical injury to members of the Reed community. 
• Guests to campus can enroll in Informacast alerts by contacting Community Safety or Conference and Events Planning.
  
  

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/INFORMATION

There are a number of additional resources that are available regarding crisis response. These include the following:

Federal Emergency Management Agency

www.fema.gov

Red Cross

www.redcross.org

Department of Homeland Security

https://www.dhs.gov/

A Guide to Citizen Preparedness

Are You Ready:  A Guide to Citizen Preparedness brings together facts on disaster survival techniques, disaster-specific information, and how to prepare for and respond to both natural and human disasters.

Are You Ready?

DisasterAssistance

The DisasterAssistance website is an initiative of the federal government aimed at greatly enhancing disaster management on an interagency and intergovernmental basis.

www.disasterassistance.gov