SEPTEMBER 2004 to MAY 2005
This report chronicles the work of the UA Campus Emergency Response Team (UACERT) core team during the academic year 2004-05. The team was chaired by Senior Vice President for Campus Life Saunie Taylor. Appendix A contains the roster of UACERT members, as well as the agendas and minutes for the monthly UACERT meetings during 2004-05.
This report is organized around eight achievements highlighting the work of UACERT for this period of time.
Established an emergency response framework that utilizes best practice principles of emergency preparedness.
The November 2003 Emergency drill revealed a number of shortcomings in the UACERT response. The recommendations centered on clarifying the key roles of UACERT members during an emergency and organizing around a framework that has been adopted in emergency preparedness training. This framework identified four teams: Operations, Planning, Resources/Logistics, and Finance/Administration. (See Appendix B for the key personnel responsibilities for these teams and an organizational chart outlining the relationships to UACERT.) This structure helped UACERT organize around functional areas that facilitate communication and effective response to emergency situations.
Created a functioning Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on campus.
The November 2003 emergency drill revealed the shortcomings of the Regents’ Room as an EOC. After some deliberation and assessment, a new site was found at the University Services Annex (USA) building that would accommodate all the teams and the necessary functions of an EOC. The UACERT spent several months in fall 2004 meeting at the EOC to determine the supplies, services, and equipment necessary for the EOC to be activated. See Appendix C for a schematic of the EOC and a list of supplies stored at the site.
Created a communication team and plan to effectively deal with the range of issues inherent in crisis situations.
The November 2003 emergency drill revealed a number of shortcomings in the UACERT communications approach. A communication team headed by Nancy Guthrie was formed to develop an interface with the Incident Command Center during the crisis. It was decided that staff from the communication office would be on site at the command center and would communicate with the communication team leader at the EOC. Further, an assessment was done to determine that it is not realistic to rely on listservs to communicate the level of emergency. It was also discovered that a backup server for the communication office was not functional and needed to be replaced. This will be accomplished with funding from the UACERT budget.
The communication team also worked with Alltel to look at other means of communication such as text messaging. A sub-team headed by Melissa Vito will give a report after this summer on what steps we need to take to have a uniform means of communication across the campus.
Designed an all-campus emergency drill that tested the effectiveness of the EOC and its interface with the Incident Command Center, the campus, and the greater Tucson Community.
The second drill was conducted on October 11, 2004. This drill included a larger segment of the University than did the first drill in November 2003. The 2004 drill was intended to test the new EOC and Incident Command Center’s response to an emergency that would likely disrupt the functioning of the University—particularly the research side of the University.
This drill, which lasted four hours, tested all aspects of the EOC. The EOC was successfully activated within 30 minutes, and the four UACERT teams were functioning within that time frame. Communication with the Incident Command Center was established, and communication with both the campus and the command center was good. There were communication snags between the police (campus/Tucson) and the campus community about whether buildings were to be evacuated and when they were safe to re-enter. A residence hall was evacuated (due to its proximity to hazardous materials from a bomb). Bear Down Gym was designated as a safe facility for students and staff to go to obtain information and assistance.
Lessons learned:
Next steps:
Filled a newly established position of Manager of Emergency Preparedness that will manage and coordinate the emergency responsiveness of the University.
This position had been created in 2003-04 to be part of Risk Management. Funding had been obtained through the All Funds budget process in July 2003. Risk Management had advertised the position but had not been successful in attracting the caliber of applicant desired. UACERT formed a working team to re-examine aspects of the position, including the description of duties, the salary, and the reporting line. This group recommended that (1) the position be moved to report to the University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) because of space and clerical support and (2) the salary be increased by $10,000. UACERT agreed to move $10,000 from the UACERT budget to upgrade this position. Senior Vice President for Business Affairs Joel Valdez agreed to fund the increase in ERE, and Chief Tony Daykin agreed to fund the renovation to create an office in the UAPD building for the position. After discussion it was agreed that there was an internal candidate who was highly qualified to fill the position, UAPD Commander Brian Seastone. Commander Seastone was interested and accepted the invitation to fill the position. He began his duties May, 2005. See Appendix D for the job description for this position.
Commander Seastone will work with a variety of constituents on campus including deans, department heads, and building managers for training in emergency preparedness, and in establishing emergency plans for units across the campus. The 2004 emergency drill revealed that few units have a functional plan or have taken time to obtain training in the basic skills of emergency response. Commander Seastone will also work with UACERT and its chair to continually improve the university’s response to emergencies.
Identified and coordinated with other campus groups engaged in security/safety issues across campus.
There were three areas that were brought to UACERT’s attention for coordination and collaboration: (1) electronic data backup; (2) campus security and spatial data initiative; and (3) software to catalog and monitor hazardous materials on campus.
Continued to coordinate threat assessment efforts on campus.
The threat assessment contract with Park Dietz became effective in January 2005. This contract gives Human Resources and the Dean of Students office 24/7 access to professionals for consultation/evaluation of threats (employee- and student-related). This spring representatives of UACERT, the Dean of Students Office, and Human Resources attended a three-day training session in California on threat assessment techniques. This group will work with Commander Seastone in designing training regarding threat assessment for key members of the campus community.
Set a timetable for compliance with federal requirements for emergency preparedness from the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
(See Appendix G for the Federal Order.) Brian Seastone will help coordinate campus compliance with this executive order.
Submitted by Saundra L. Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Campus Life and Chair of the Campus Emergency Response Team (UACERT)
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All contents copyright © 2006. Arizona Board of Regents.
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