Emergency Plan

Appendix 7:

SDSU Evacuation Procedures

A. PREPARING FOR AN EVACUATION

• Know your building’s floor plan. Know where the stairs and fire extinguishers are located.
• Determine in advance the nearest exit from your work location and the route you will follow to reach that exit in an emergency. Know the locations of alternate exits from your area.
• If you work in an office, know exactly how many doors you will pass along your evacuation route before you reach the nearest exit door. In heavy smoke, exit signs may be invisible. Even in heavy smoke, you can count the number of doors as you pass, so you will know when you reach the exit door.

B. DURING AN EVACUATION

• If time and conditions permit, secure your workplace and take with you important personal items such as car keys, purse, medication, glasses.
• Follow instructions from emergency personnel.
• Check doors for heat before opening. (Do not open door if hot.)
• WALK — do not run. Do not push or crowd.
• Keep noise to a minimum so you can hear emergency instructions.
• Use handrails in stairwells; stay to the right.
• Assist people with disabilities.
• Move to your Evacuation Assembly Points  unless otherwise instructed.

If relocating outside the building:

• Move quickly away from the building.
• Watch for falling glass and other debris.
• Stay with your building safety coordinator.
• Keep roadways and walkways clear for emergency vehicles.
• If you have relocated away from the building, DO NOT RETURN until notified that it is safe to do so.
• Whenever the fire alarms/strobes are activated, occupants MUST evacuate the building and reassemble at your designated assembly point. Occupants on floors above the ground floor must use emergency exit stairwells to leave the building. DO NOT USE ELEVATORS !!!!
• For certain emergencies such as a bomb threat or a natural gas leak, the fire alarms/strobes may not be activated. Instead, building safety coordinators will move through the building and order the occupants to evacuate.
• Emergency evacuation signage is posted in buildings so that occupants can become familiar with the evacuation routes and assembly points for their area.
• Building safety coordinators are responsible to assist and direct building occupants in assigned areas to the fire exit stairwell and confirm that all occupants have evacuated the areas. The building safety coordinator will report to an authorized emergency responder that their area is clear. Authorized emergency responders are DPS employees, members of the fire department or SDSU volunteers wearing orange armbands. Try to remain calm, and give clear evacuation instructions. Keep existing groups together.
• Building safety coordinators are responsible to work with departmental chairs and directors to identify any SDSU employees with a disability who would need consideration and assistance during an evacuation. At least two staff members should be assigned to each person identified with a disability to provide assistance, ensuring that the disabled person will be assisted during the evacuation. Should the disabled person not be able to use the fire exit stairwells, he or she must be escorted to the exit stairwell landing as a “Safe Area of Rescue.” The escort should remain with the disable person at the landing to provide additional assistance. The building safety coordinator will inform an authorized emergency responder that a disabled person is waiting for rescue on the specified floor within the exit stairwell.
• Faculty and instructors are responsible to identify any student(s) with a disability that would need consideration and assistance during an evacuation. At least two students should be assigned to each person identified with a disability to provide assistance, ensuring that the disabled person will be assisted during the evacuation. Should the disabled person not be able to use the fire exit stairwells, he or she must be escorted to the exit stairwell landing as a “Safe Point of Rescue.” The escort should remain with the disabled person at the landing to provide additional assistance. The faculty member or instructor will inform an authorized emergency responder that a disabled person is waiting for rescue on the specified floor within the exit stairwell.

C. EVACUATION OF DISABLED PERSONS

A. Persons Using Crutches/Canes or Walkers

In emergency evacuations, these individuals should be treated as if they were injured. Have the individual sit on a sturdy chair, preferably a chair with arms, and follow the procedure for non-ambulatory persons below:

B. Non-ambulatory persons

Evacuation may not be necessary or advisable. Many stairwells are designed to provide temporary protection from fire or other danger. An able-bodied volunteer should stay with a wheelchair user in the platform area of the stairwell while a second person notifies emergency personnel or paramedics of the exact location of the wheelchair user.

If immediate evacuation is necessary, be aware of the following considerations:

• Wheelchairs have movable parts; some are not designed to withstand stress or lifting.
• You may need to remove the chair batteries; life-support equipment may be attached.
• In a life-threatening emergency, it may be necessary to remove an individual from their wheelchair. Lifting a person with minimal ability to move may be dangerous to their well-being.
• Wheelchairs should not be used to descend stairwells, if at all possible. Instead, use an emergency evacuation chair.
• Non-ambulatory persons may have respiratory complications. Remove them from smoke or fumes immediately and determine their needs and preferences.
• Check the evacuation routes for obstructions before assisting the person to the exit.
• Delegate other volunteers to bring the wheelchair.
• Reunite the person with their wheelchair as soon as it is safe to retrieve it.

Always consult with the person in the chair regarding how best to assist him/her:

• The number of people necessary for assistance.
• Ways of being removed from the wheelchair.
• Whether to extend or move extremities when lifting because of pain, catheter leg bags, plasticity, braces, etc.
• Whether to carry forward or backward on a flight of stairs.
• Whether a seat cushion or pad should be brought along if the wheelchair is being left behind.
• In lieu of a wheelchair, does he/she prefer a stretcher, chair with cushion/pad, or car seat?
• Is paramedic assistance necessary?

C. Visually Impaired Persons

Most visually impaired persons will be familiar with their immediate work area. In an emergency situation, describe the nature of the emergency and offer to act as a "sighted guide"; offer your elbow and escort him/her to a safe place. As you walk, describe where you are and advise of any obstacles. When you have reached safety, orient the person as to where you are and ask if any further assistance is needed.

D. Hearing Impaired Persons

Because persons with impaired hearing may not perceive emergency alarms, an alternative warning technique is required. Two methods of warning:

1. Write a note describing the emergency and nearest evacuation route. ("Fire. Go out rear door to the right and down, NOW!")
2. Turn the light switch off and on to gain attention, then indicate through gestures what is happening and what to do.

D. "SHELTER-IN-PLACE" PROCEDURES

During certain emergency situations, particularly chemical, biological or radioactive material releases and some weather emergencies, you may be advised to “shelter in place” rather than evacuate the building.

• Stay inside the building (or go indoors as quickly as possible).
• Do not use elevators.
• Quickly locate supplies you may need such as food, water, radio, etc.
• If possible, go a room or corridor where there are no windows and few doors.
• If there is time, shut and lock all windows and doors. (Locking them may provide a tighter seal against chemicals).
• Push a wet towel up against the crack between the door and the floor to seal it.
• In the event of a chemical release, go to an above-ground level of the building; some chemicals are heavier than air and may seep into basements even if the windows are closed.
• Turn off the heat, fans, air conditioning or ventilation system, if you have local controls for these systems. Most university buildings’ ventilation systems are controlled centrally by Physical Plant.
• Drink bottled, stored water, not water from the tap.
• If possible, check for additional information via the main university Web page, http://www.sdsu.edu, and/or monitor radio or television for further details. (The three San Diego AM stations required to broadcast emergency information are KOGO/AM 600, KPOP/AM 1360, and KSDO/AM 1130.)
• Do not call 911 unless you are reporting a life-threatening situation.

When the "all clear" is announced:

• Open windows and doors.
• Turn on heating, air conditioning or ventilation system.
• Go outside and wait until the building has been vented.

E. ASSEMBLY POINTS

See Evacuation Assembly Points 

F. VEHICLE EVACUATION PLAN

One goal of the Department of Public Safety in the event of a campus closure/evacuation is to direct vehicles off campus in a safe and controlled manner. The following traffic management plan will be implemented, although it should be noted that several variables may come into play that could alter the specific application of the plan. Pre-eminent among these factors are:

• the nature of the emergency
• the immediate impact upon SDSU of the emergency
• the timing of the emergency
• the staffing available to the Department to implement the plan.

Staffing is contingent upon the number of Police, Parking, and Community Service Officers currently working and available to assist. Vendors associated with SDSU and the Department of Public Safety such as Ace Parking Management, Elite Show Services, and Staff Pro have been notified of our potential, immediate need for staffing and will have a plan in place for responding to SDSU. Of course, their ability to respond in a timely fashion will be totally dependent upon the nature and extent of the emergency.

This plan begins with the "worst-case" scenario: the necessity to immediately evacuate the campus. The plan may be modified to establish additional points of traffic control dependent upon available time and staff. Initially, Department of Public Safety staff, with Elite personnel who work daily at SDSU, would be the primary controllers and would be assigned to the following intersections:

• College Avenue and Canyon Crest
• Montezuma Road and 55th Street
• Montezuma Road and E. Campus Drive
• 55th Street and Hardy Avenue
• Montezuma Road and Z Street
• 55th Street and Remington Road
• 55th Street and Cox Arena Entry
• 55th Street and Cox Arena Exit
• E. Campus Drive and Z Street

The most congested areas on campus during mass egress are College Avenue and 55th Street. The goal of the controllers will be to keep traffic moving in a manner that will favor traffic on these streets.

• Vehicles heading northbound on College Avenue would be sent in two directions: to the freeway and to Alvarado Road. Traffic being directed to the freeway would be directed into both northbound lanes to assist in congestion of the right lane, even if these cars must miss the freeway entrance. They will be able to enter the freeway southbound when they u-turn at Del Cerro Boulevard.
• When the right northbound lane of College Avenue north of Alvarado becomes congested, traffic will be directed down Alvarado Road. Vehicles on Canyon Crest will be intermittently directed in the same manner.
• All Vehicles exiting E. Campus Drive and Z Street onto Montezuma will be directed eastbound onto Montezuma. All vehicles on southbound E. Campus Drive and westbound E lot will be directed south on E. Campus Drive as westbound Z Street is congested.
• Vehicles heading southbound on 55th Street will be directed westbound on Montezuma. The number one and two turn-lanes from southbound 55th to eastbound Montezuma will be intermittently directed with the remaining right-only lane westbound onto Montezuma.
• Vehicles at 55th and Hardy will be directed through the light, southbound to Montezuma. The same will be done at the lights on 55th at Cox Arena entry and exit.
• Vehicles at 55th and Remington will be directed through the light in the same manner; however, the right lane will be directed westbound onto Remington intermittently to keep traffic flowing from PS 4.

Ace, Staff Pro, and Elite staff will check in at the Parking Information Booth where they will be given their assignment. These personnel will then be deployed into the structures to direct traffic to the exits with the least congestion and close all necessary exits to maintain the traffic plan.