Published on 7/5/2017.
EPSCo Tabletop Exercise
04/28/2017
A Table-Top exercise for the Eureka campus on Friday, April 28, 2017, was completed. EPSCo members and invited guests participated in a scenario based on a 6.9 earthquake causing damage to campus and imminent threat to life. See email below.
EMAIL 05/03/17
College Of The Redwoods will be scheduling an annual evacuation drill for all campuses in order to be compliant with our Emergency Operations Plan, Board Policy, as well as local, state and federal guidelines, mandates, laws, regulations, and standards. The annual evacuations shall be scheduled as follows:
- On Even Years, the evacuation drill will be on the 2nd Tuesday of the Fall Semester at 10:15 am.
- On Odd Years, it will be on the 2nd Wednesday of the Fall Semester at 10:15 am. Example, this year, 2017, the evacuation drill will be on the 2nd Wednesday, September 6, 2017, at 10:15 am.
In addition to the annual evacuation drills, there will be other exercises and trainings available. One of those trainings took place this last Friday.
College Of The Redwoods Emergency Preparedness & Safety Committee (EPSCo), in cooperation with the Public Safety Department conducted an annual exercise of the Emergency Operations Plan on Friday, April 28, 2017, with a Table-Top Exercise training. EPSCo members and invited guests participated in a scenario based on a 6.9 earthquake causing damage to campus and imminent threat to life. The objective were:
- Validate College of the Redwoods emergency operations plan, policies, and procedures in regards to a major incident on campus.
- Determine the roles and responsibilities of the administration within the incident command system (ICS) structure.
- Exercise the decision making process, and identify areas that need refinement. Identify key actions to be taken and who will take them.
Participants were: President Keith Snow-Flamer, Wendy Bates, Marty Coelho, Joe Hash, Ron Waters, Garry Patrick, Kirk Frischknecht, Erik Sorensen, Paul Chown, Julia Peterson, Tami Engman, Doug Edgmon, Holly Cunningham, Jennie Randolph, Derek Glavich, Wendy Jones, Luke Biesecker, Trish Blair, Ali Hodges, Demetrius Williams, and Burk McBride.
Objectives were met and many thing were learned. It was a successful Table-Top exercise and the consensus from those who participated, was that more training is needed. Special thanks to Trish Blair and Ali Hodges for facilitating the exercise and Luke Biesecker (Academy of the Redwoods), Wendy Bates, and Derek Glavich for observing and evaluating the exercise. EPSCo would especially like to thank Demetrius Williams for his hard work and knowledge in putting the exercise together and running the scenario.
College Of The Redwoods maintains an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that contains provisions to provide immediate emergency response and evacuation in an emergency situation. The Emergency Preparedness & Safety Committee, in cooperation with the Public Safety Department and/or County OES will conduct an annual exercise of the Emergency Operations Plan and document each exercise.
Emergency Response Plan (BP 3505)
The District shall have emergency response and evacuation procedures for notifying the campus community in the event of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus.
The President/Superintendent shall establish procedures that ensure that the District implements a plan to be activated in the event of an emergency or the occurrence of a natural disaster or hazardous condition. This plan must comply with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) and should incorporate the functions and principles of the Incident Command System (ICS), the Master Mutual Aid Agreement (MMAA) and any other relevant programs. The plan must incorporate NIMS and SEMS to facilitate the coordination between and among agencies in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
Compliance with NIMS and SEMS mandates include but are not limited to:
- Establishing disaster preparedness procedures or a plan; and
- Completion of training sessions by college personnel in compliance with NIMS and SEMS guidelines
- Training requirements vary based on job titles or assigned roles within the emergency plan
College personnel must be informed that as public employees, they are also disaster service workers during national, state, and local emergencies. The District must ensure that its employees are in compliance with the disaster service worker oath requirements.
The President/Superintendent should ensure that a team is created to carry out compliance with NIMS and SEMS mandates. The responses to emergencies or natural disasters are organized by SEMS into five categories: field response, local government, operational areas, regions, and state.
The plan should contain information regarding activation and chain of command responsibilities. Compliance with NIMS mandates requires planning and incorporation for all phases of emergency management including mitigation and prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. The District must ensure that its plan is updated regularly. Colleges must comply with NIMS and SEMS to receive federal or state funding.