Talking Stick - September/October 2008 - 36

SaFe HaRboR Conducting a fullscale mock disaster booSt yoUR FiRe SaFety tRaining on campus is not the The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) only way to practice “Get Out and Stay Alive” program is designed to emergency procedures. educate college students about the importance Shivar explains three of day-to-day fire safety and prevention measures levels of exercises that in residence halls and off-campus housing. The institutions can utilize: program consists of a video and accompanying 1. A tabletop exercise involves key personnel training kit focusing on three main topics: getting discussing simulated out, prevention, and protection. Program materials scenarios in an informal are available free of charge to colleges and setting. This exercise can universities. USFA is an entity of the Department be used to assess plans, of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency policies, and procedures. Management Agency. To learn more about the 2. A functional exercise program and order materials, visit www.usfa.dhs. examines and/or validates gov/citizens/college/get_out.shtm. the coordination, command, and control among various entities. This exercise does not involve any “boots on the ground,” but stakeholders make decisions and call for resources, simulating deployment in a real-time format. 3. A full-scale exercise involves multiple agencies being deployed and performing tasks in as real a fashion as possible. “A full-scale exercise is not necessarily required every year; however, tabletop and functional exercises should be conducted annually and/or after any significant change in an emergency plan,” Shivar says. Shivar emphasizes that these exercises should be conducted as educational tools, not as opportunities to play a “gotcha” game. “The most important step in any exercise program is to have all stakeholders in the emergency plan agree on objectives and then exercise those objectives,” he says. “A small committee of people sits down and writes the scenario to exercise the objectives Shivar explains that, for all but fullscale exercises, the campus population doesn’t always need to know about them. At Clemson, the Another RA practices his extinguishing skills at Clemson’s training session. latest nuclear preparedness exercise was conducted simultaneously that have been established. A facilitator with the regularly scheduled test of is established to provide injects to the the emergency broadcast system. “The group of participants, and other nonuniversity also conducts some exercises participants should be identified to with minimal notice, so whoever is evaluate the exercise.” available is who the university works At Clemson, all exercises start with with. It is very important to not operate the university’s Crisis Management in a vacuum, so surrounding emergency 3 Talking Stick TiNa lemay, ClemSON uNiVerSiTy Team, which is composed of key personnel empowered to implement consequence management and mitigation for any significant incident that impacts the faculty, staff, and students or has the potential to interrupt the academic or research functions of the university. “The Emergency Operations Plan for the state of South Carolina requires all leadership positions to be ‘three deep’ so functional exercises reach out beyond the key decision makers to include alternates,” Shivar says.

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/college/get_out.shtm http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/college/get_out.shtm

Talking Stick - September/October 2008

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