Management of Emergency Incidents

An emergency is an actual or imminent event that requires an immediate response from either internal or external resources. Emergency management is the process of coordinating available resources to deal with emergencies effectively, thereby saving lives, avoiding injury, and minimizing economic or environmental loss.

Notification

All emergencies on University property should be reported to our Security and Emergency Control Room. This control room is staffed 24 hours a day all year. It is very important that this process is followed so that our escalation procedures can be triggered to ensure a timely response by relevant staff or emergency services. Please check your local emergency contact numbers for other people to notify in the event of an emergency.

Initial Response

The initial response within any building will be coordinated by the Building Emergency Controller (BEC). The BEC will utilise Wardens and First Aiders within the building to deal with the emergency or evacuation. A Security Guard will also be dispatched to the building to assist.

If the emergency has triggered an alarm system such as the fire alarm, or an Ambulance has been called, or multiple buildings are involved, Security will notify the Emergency Management Coordinator who will attend to assist with coordinating the emergency response. Our standard operating procedures may also trigger responses from maintenance staff, EHS advisors from the RMO, utility companies and possibly our own emergency response teams.

Escalation

The management of the emergency may become more complicated as more emergency services arrive, more University Staff and other services are required. At this stage the Emergency Management Coordinator and Security Manager may recommend that the Emergency Response Group be activated to manage the University response. The ERG will respond to our Emergency Operations Centre to be briefed before assuming the management and coordination role for the University.

The majority of our emergencies are managed by the BEC's and Wardens, the emergency services and the Emergency Management Coordinator. It is comforting to know that major emergencies on University property are rare.

Crisis

A crisis is an adverse incident or series of events, which has the potential to seriously damage the University's staff, students, operations or reputation. Crisis management is a dynamic process that uses a mix of tactics including risk analysis, prevention and preparedness, emergency response and business continuity and recovery. The University crisis management plan is currently under review.