Emergency Response Plan

This Plan is intended as a guide. The College of Micronesia-FSM reserves the right to modify its actions prior to, during, and after an emergency to ensure the proper functioning of the college.

The emerency response plan refers to emergencies and disasters that occur on property owned, leased, or operated by the College of Micronesia-FSM (COM-FSM) only.

Statement of Purpose

This document constitutes the emergency management and disaster preparedness plan for COM-FSM.

This plan is to be implemented in the event of a major emergency or disaster (as defined in Section C and/or as declared by the President of the college.)

The purposes of this plan are:

• To protect the lives and property of the college community during emergencies.

• To preserve the orderly functioning of the college community during emergencies.

• To establish clear lines of authority and communication with outside agencies during an emergency.

• To coordinate decision making and effective use of available manpower and resources in the event of an emergency.

• To identify the college's role in coordinating emergency operations with outside agencies.

Emergency Plan Activation

This Emergency Response Plan shall be activated under the following circumstances:

1. When civil authorities declare a state of emergency that affects the college, either locally, statewide or national.

2. When the president or his designee declares a college emergency.

3. When an occurrence such as threats of violence against individuals or groups, fires, and other hazards, potential or actual, seriously disrupts the overall operation of the college or threatens the health or safety of members of the college community.

4. When a natural hazard such as storms, typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes , or other natural disasters affect the college.

Note: Unless otherwise directed by the president of the college, operational management of minor emergencies, i.e., incidents, potential or actual, which do not seriously affect the overall functioning of the college, depending upon the nature of the incident, rests with the Office of Campus Security and Safety, in consultation with related department heads and in accordance with established protocols.

Plan Command and Control

In an emergency, command decisions will be made by the plan executive. The plan executive has the authority to activate the emergency plan. Operational implementation of the plan will be directed by the plan director.

Chain of Command

National site

Plan executive: President
Alternate number one: Vice President for Administration
Alternate number two: Vice President for Student Services
Alternate number three: Vice President for Instructional Affairs
Alternate number four: Vice President for Cooperative Research and Extension

Plan director: Director of Maintenance, Facilities and Security

Alternate number one: Security and Safety Supervisor
Alternate number two: Project Manager, Maintenance
Alternate number three: Director Residence & Campus Life

State sites

Plan executive: Campus Director
Alternate number one: Campus assistant director

Plan director: Maintenance program specialist
Alternate number one:

In the event of an emergency at a state site, the plan executive will, if possible, keep the college president informed of the situation and decisions being made. If time frames permit, the president or his designee has the authority to overrule the state site plan executive.

Activation of the Plan

When emergency conditions are such that normal campus operational efforts can no longer effectively deal with the emergency, the emergency response plan will be placed into effect by the plan executive.

Notification Procedure

Once college personnel have information concerning an emergency situation or the potential for an emergency situation to arise, the plan executive will be informed. Based on the nature of the emergency, the plan executive will then notify the appropriate individuals and, if necessary, assemble an emergency operations team.

Plan directors, or their designee, are responsible for notifying the college community if the emergency warrants action.

If an emergency requires immediate action, individual college employees are authorized and directed to take actions as necessary that may, in the individual's judgment, be necessary to save lives and mitigate the effects of disasters or the emergency situation. These actions should be reported at the earliest opportunity to the plan executive.

If the emergency is of a nature that compromises safety and security, college security personnel are authorized to act in advance of notification of the emergency plan chain of command.

In the case of a State of Emergency declared by civil authorities, all designated emergency personnel should attempt to report for duty and assume their defined roles if permitted by civil authorities, whether or not they have received official notification from the college.

Guidelines for disseminating emergency information

Disaster conditions occurring during scheduled class periods will require expeditious

communication of information and instructions to employees and students. Uncertainty and

confusion must be avoided, prevented or minimized and the protection of lives must be the

primary concern.

Modes of communication

Email/website

Emergency information shall be sent periodically to faculty, staff, and

student email accounts. Information and updates shall also be posted on the

college home web page.

Campus telephone system

The campus receptionist will contact unit leads such as division chairs, LRC director, recreation coordinator, secretaries in other buildings.

Word of mouth

Sites being small, depending on the nature of the emergency, administrators can physically walk the campus and get word of the emergency effectively communicated.

Radio

Where appropriate, the radio station will be contacted to broadcast emergency information from the college.

Emergency management team

The plan executive has the authority to assemble an emergency management team comprised of personnel appropriate to the nature of the emergency.

In the event of a natural disaster, personnel who have been designated as part of the emergency management team shall automatically report to the college campus affected.

The college has the right to expect employees to make themselves available for work in the event of an emergency, to report promptly, and to remain as long as is deemed necessary.

Key positions that can expect to be part of emergency management teams:

Campus president or director

Campus facilities director or specialist

Campus security supervisor or coordinator
Campus nurse

The specific composition of the emergency management team is at the discretion of the plan executive and will vary. Other personnel who might be asked to serve on an emergency management team include Vice Presidents, Director of Development and Community Relations, and the Director of Information Technology.

First Administrator on the Scene

If the emergency occurs during non-office hours, the first college administrator on the scene has immediate responsibility for command, control, and notification. Where more than one administrator has arrived during off-hours, and the plan executive is not yet in place to make command decisions, the highest ranking administrator present has the authority to take immediate action until the arrival of the plan executive.

Operations Plan Priorities

General

The emergency management team will, upon assembly:

1. assess the situation

2. determine resources needed or available to address the emergency

3. issue staff assignments

4. establish necessary communication with outside agencies and civil authorities

5. monitor progress and continue assessment

6. when appropriate, declare end of emergency status

7. designate one of its members as keeper of a log of events and actions.

Priority Goals

The essential goals of the emergency management team will be, in order:

1. preservation of human life and welfare

2. preservation of human health and safety

3. protection of college property and, where possible, personal property

4. maintenance of college programs and operations

5. respond to external community needs.

Priority Locations

The emergency management team will prioritize locations to receive priority attention with regard to restoration of services.

The campus buildings and areas that will receive priority attention with regard to normal operation (restoration of services, maintenance, and use), in order, are:

1. Office of campus security and maintenance areas

2. Residence halls

3. Dispensary

4. Administration building and other administrative and academic facilities

5. Recreational facilities

[Editor: I like this list. It is the opposite of the situation on the ground at the national site. The administration was the first building to have a generator. Neither campus security, nor maintenance, nor the dorms, nor the dispensary are on a generator. Not sure how to handle the disjunction between the above and the present reality on the ground at the national site.]

Priority Objectives

The objectives outlined below relate to the priority goals above. "Priority I Objectives" relate to preservation and safety of human life; "Priority II and III Objectives" relate to preservation of property and restoration of normal operations. Effort and action will focus on Priority I Objectives until substantially met. Priority II and III Objectives will be addressed as resources are available.

Priority I Objectives

1. Establish emergency communications.

2. Assess damage, injuries, and location of major problems.

3. Evacuate affected locations pending additional assessment.

4. Isolate dangerous areas until judged safe for reentry.

5. Establish medical triage and first aid areas and transport seriously injured to medical facilities if necessary.

6. Repair utilities and lifelines to prevent further life/safety hazards.

7. Identify and rescue persons trapped in damaged facilities.

8. Control secondary hazards.

Priority II Objectives

1. Communicate critical information and instructions to campus, the public, families and students.

2. Shore up damaged facilities that pose safety hazards.

3. Provide emergency food and shelter as needed.

4. Conduct rapid structural engineering assessment of campus facilities.

5. Track status of all injured and missing college students and personnel.

6. Restore college telecommunications systems as soon as possible.

7. Assess local transportation conditions and advise campus regarding viable routes.

8. Secure closed facilities.

9. Contain/control/preserve animals and critical research areas.

10. Begin documentation of damages.

Priority III Objectives

1. Initiate data recovery plans.

2. Identify and secure valuable college materials.

3. Normalize flow of supplies and equipment from off campus.

4. Provide psychological and personal assistance to staff, faculty, students and others impacted by the event.

5. Re-allocate residential, academic and administrative operating space, if necessary.

6. Provide space to external agencies, if necessary and possible.

Unit Responsibilities

General

Under a declared emergency, the emergency management team will assign responsibilities to operating departments and offices. Departments and offices may be directed to suspend day-to-day operations that do not contribute directly to emergency management. Individuals not in specified emergency areas may be temporarily reassigned to assist in emergency operations.

Job Assignments

Job assignments to college departments and offices defines the specific responsibilities expected to be assumed by specific personnel.

Office of Campus Security and Safety

1. Maintain communication with local public safety agencies.

2. Maintain liaison with fire protection services to assist in their operations.

3. Request initial fire protection services, rescue operations and emergency medical services and provide assistance to them in obtaining access to emergency sites.

4. Coordinate crowd and traffic control.

5. Provide and/or coordinate protection for life and property at emergency and related sites.

6. Provide emergency access to buildings and offices for college administrative staff.

7. Provide general safety advisories.

8. Collect, inventory, and secure personal property left at the emergency site and return such property to the rightful owners, unless needed as evidence.

Facilities

1. Maintain liaison with utility providers to coordinate continuation of services.

2. Maintain and provide as needed information on building infrastructures, maps, construction descriptions, etc.

3. Coordinate any surveys of utilities or buildings for damage and/or securing of buildings and areas.

4. Direct services restorations, cleanup operations.

5. Compile and submit reports required by federal or state law, regarding hazardous materials, etc.

6. Provide health and safety assessments to the emergency management team.

7. Provide emergency repairs and fuel supplies for college apparatus and equipment in use during an emergency.

8. Provide or coordinate transportation services.

9. Identify, evaluate and monitor the presence of hazardous materials and other public health hazards.

10. Act as site liaison with regulatory agencies as necessary during hazardous materials incidents.

Division of IT

1. Assure the integrity of the telecommunications infrastructure and data systems and implement data disaster recovery plan.

2. Provide emergency management team with evaluation and assessment of communications and data retrieval capabilities.

Department of Student Services

1. Manage all student services.

2. Provide information and communication to students and their families in coordination with the Director of Office of Admissions and Records.

3. Direct and manage housing and food service programs for both emergency and non-emergency related students and personnel.

4. Provide and/or direct counseling and psychological support and services to students and other members of the college community dealing with immediate and longer-term emergency generated trauma.

5. Assist other college units in field triage, evacuation, and cleanup or wherever the emergency management team identifies manpower needs.

Director of Community Relations

1. In consultation with members of the emergency management team, coordinate and provide information about the college's situation and response to the emergency to the college community and the general public.

2. If necessary, establish and maintain, with the assistance of authorities, if necessary, appropriate, restricted "press areas" to provide regular information updates to the media.

3. In consultation with the emergency management team, coordinate and provide information to the media.

4. Assist the Vice President of Student Services and the Student Life staff with the provision of information to students and the families of students and staff.

Campus Nurse

1. Provide and/or coordinate first aid, either at the dispensary or at alternate campus locations, as necessary.

2. Provide psychological support to campus community in conjunction with other student affairs personnel. [Editor: this skill set is more likely to be found among the college counselors than with the nurse]

3. Provide liaison services with area hospitals, re: medical records of students, lists and conditions of those hospitalized, etc., as needed.

4. Treat minor injuries at the dispensary, if necessary.

General Counsel

1. Review and clear all public relations and student affairs statements or reports concerning the possible cause of accidents or emergencies, potential liability for accidents or injuries, and all other legal concerns or problems.
   [Editor's note: I do not think this is plausibly realistic for the college. The college has no full-time general counsel as an employee. This section probably needs review: the college has no liability insurance, not as far as I am aware.]

2. Assist the Office of the Comptroller in the processing of all personal and property insurance claims arising from the emergency.

3. Coordinate the college investigation and reporting on the probable cause or nature of the emergency and the college's response to it.

Supplementary Procedures and Policies

This document sets forth the operational and governance responsibilities in the event that the President of the college declares a campus emergency. Existing protocols, policies and procedures that address safety, campus access, campus disturbances, notification of parents, students in distress, and the like, remain in force unless otherwise specified as "suspended due to emergency" by the president, his/her designee, or the emergency management team. These existing procedures and policies include, but are not limited to:

• Residence Hall Evacuation Plan and Drill Procedures

• OSHA Chemical Hygiene Plan/Hazardous Chemical Releases and Spill Procedure

• Hazardous Materials Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan

In addition, the Office of Campus Security and Safety, has operational responsibility for the college's Security and Fire Safety Procedures. A member of the Campus Security staff has been designated as the college's Fire Safety Officer.

Development and Implementation of Supplementary Emergency Procedures

Whenever necessary, departments shall develop supplementary emergency procedures based upon the priorities and responsibilities outlined in this document.

Reporting to Campus

In the event of an emergency, head of departments should be prepared to report to the campus, if during non-working hours, unless directed otherwise by a member of the emergency management team. Other administrators and faculty should await notice from their division directors, unless supplementary plans indicate otherwise.

[Based in part on information obtained from Barnard College]

Contact List

Dr. Joseph M. Daisy President

Joseph. Habuchmai Vice President Administration

Ringlen. Ringlen Vice President Student Services

Mariana Ben Dereas Vice President Instructional Affairs

Jim Currie Vice President Cooperative Research

Extension

Danny Dumantay Comptroller

Joseph Saimon Director Community Relations

Reedson Abraham Director Student Life

Gordon Segal Director Information Tech.

Eddie Haleyalig Director Financial Aid

Joey Oducado Director Office of Admission

and Records

Jennifer Hainrick Director Learning Resource

Center

Francisco Mendiola Director Facilities and Security