SUNYIT Events Calendar

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Academic Calendars

Environmental Health and Safety

Evacuation Prodecures

Active Shooter | Airplane Crash | Animal Incidents / Rabies
Blood, Bodily Fluid, or Infectious Agent Exposure | Bomb / Explosion
Civil Disturbance / Demonstration Procedures | Confined Space Emergency
Criminal / Violent Behavior | Evacuation Procedures | Fire | Hazardous Materials
Hostage | Medical Emergency / Accident | Mental Health Emergency
Public Health Concern | Severe Weather | Sexual Assault | Shelter-In-Place
Shelter Operations | Structural Collapse / Failure | Suspicious Packages
Terrorism | Transportation Emergencies | Utility Failure

Evacuation Procedures

An evacuation is defined as the emptying of an occupied area and the transference of its occupants to a safe location. A critical element of any evacuation is transportation. In many campuses and communities, auto-dependent commuters congest roadways to the point of "gridlock." The community population, high number of resident students, commuter students and use of transportation alternatives must be taken into account when planning the steps necessary to evacuate all campus occupants, whether they arrived by public transit, single-occupant auto, carpool, or bicycle.

In a major emergency, the decision to implement evacuation procedures generally rests with the campus Emergency Operations Center (EOC). In situations requiring immediate action, public safety responders (Police, Fire, EMS and Environmental Health & Safety) can also order an evacuation. When evaluating the decision to evacuate, consideration will be given to the specific threat (bomb, fire, storm, explosion, hazardous materials incident, etc.), its context (time of day, likelihood, etc.) and the recommendation of first responders.

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Campus Evacuation

  • General Information
    • Any partial or full scale evacuation of SUNYIT is a complex, time-consuming task.
    • The decision to evacuate, and the methods used, shall be determined by the EOC, in coordination with the Oneida County EOC.
    • If the decision to evacuate is made, the EOC shall utilize all available methods of public notification to inform the campus community of the situation.
    • If it is necessary to evacuate the campus, exit in the direction given by University Police or other emergency authority.
    • Do not put your vehicle in a position where it blocks the way for others.
    • Some vehicles may be selected for emergency transportation. If your vehicle is chosen, please cooperate.
    • If the road is not usable, leave your vehicle off of the roadway and evacuate by foot.
    • Evacuations will generally fall into two categories:
      • Limited or partial evacuation in which a designated area and / or group of buildings may be evacuated for a specific time.
      • General evacuation in which the entire campus is evacuated for a prolonged period of time.
    • It is very important that regardless of the type or duration of an evacuation that faculty, staff, students and visitors listen very carefully to official information and evacuation orders issued from the SUNYIT EOC.
  • Faculty, Staff and Campus Visitors
    • In the event of an authorized evacuation, all faculty, staff, and campus visitors should leave campus and return to their home or other safe and appropriate intermediate destination unless told otherwise.
  • Students
    • In the event of an evacuation, all students who can provide their own transportation should leave the campus and return to their home, or other safe and appropriate intermediate destination, unless told otherwise.
    • Students should remember to take medications and any other essential personal items that may be needed during the evacuation period.
    • Students who cannot go home will be transported to a designated shelter. All available modes of transportation will be utilized to transport students who need transportation.
  • When You Leave the Campus
    • Since an evacuation could last from a few hours to several days, it is important to consider where you might stay and what things you might need. When you leave the campus you should take the following items:
      • Two blankets or one sleeping bag
      • Two changes of clothing
      • Personal / important papers
      • Medication
      • Toilet articles
    • In addition, if you are going to a shelter for housing or assistance, you should bring your SUNYIT identification card and other appropriate forms of identification.
    • When you leave, make sure appliances and faucets are turned off and doors and windows are locked.

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Building Evacuation

  • A building occupant is required by law to evacuate the building when the fire alarm sounds.
  • When evacuating your building or work area:
    • Stay calm; do not rush and do not panic.
    • Safely stop your work.
  • Gather your personal belongings if it is safe to do so (reminder: take prescription medications out with you if at all possible; it may be hours before you are allowed back in the building.)
    • If safe, close your office door and window, but do not lock them. Note: unless there is a need to protect critical materials.
    • Use the nearest safe stairs and proceed to the nearest exit. Do not use the elevator.
    • Wait for any instructions from emergency responders.
  • Do not re-enter the building or work area until you have been instructed to do so by the emergency responders.


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Guidelines for Persons with Disabilities

  • An evacuation plan must start with this basic premise: Everyone must try to evacuate through the nearest, safe exit. At least two emergency passageways must be identified in each building. Each passageway must either lead to an exit, or safely lead to a designated area of refuge.
  • After identifying the exits; a recommendation is that each person with a disability ask a co-worker, friend, faculty member or fellow student to provide assistance if an emergency develops. This “evacuation assistant” should be informed about the disabilities and how he or she can best help.
  • The following guidelines are general and may not apply in every circumstance.
    • DO NOT evacuate disabled people in their wheelchairs. This is standard practice to ensure the safety of disabled people and assistants. Wheelchairs will be evacuated later if possible.
    • Always ASK someone with a disability how you can help BEFORE attempting any rescue technique or giving assistance. Ask how they can best be assisted or moved, and whether there are any special considerations or items that need to come with them.
      • DO NOT use elevators, unless authorized to do so by police or fire personnel. Elevators could fail during a fire.
      • If the situation is life threatening, call University Police at (111).
      • Check on people with special needs during an evacuation. A "buddy system", where people with disabilities arrange for assistants (co-workers/ friends) to alert them and assist them in an emergency, is a good method.
      • Attempt a rescue evacuation ONLY if you have had rescue training or the person is in immediate danger and cannot wait for professional assistance.
      • If an outage occurs during the day and people with disabilities choose to wait in the building for electricity to be restored, they can move near a window where there is natural light and access to a working telephone. During regular building hours, University Police should be notified so they can advise emergency personnel.
        • If people would like to leave and an evacuation has been ordered, or if the outage occurs at night, call University Police at (111) from a campus telephone to request evacuation assistance from emergency personnel.
        • Some campus telephones may not operate in a power outage, but cellular telephones are likely to be operating.
    • Visually Impaired
      • Give verbal instructions to advise about the safest route or direction using compass directions, estimated distances, and directional terms.
      • DO NOT grasp a visually impaired person's arm. Ask if he or she would like to hold onto your elbow as you exit, especially if there is debris or a crowd.
      • Give other verbal instructions or information (i.e. elevators cannot be used).
    • Hearing Impaired
      • Get the attention of a person with a hearing disability by touch and eye contact. Clearly state the problem. Gestures and pointing are helpful, but be prepared to write a brief statement if the person does not seem to understand.
      • Offer visual instructions to advise of safest route or direction by pointing toward exits or evacuation maps.
    • Mobility Impairment
      • It may be necessary to help clear the exit route of debris (if possible) so that the person with a disability can move out or to a safer area.
      • If people with mobility impairments cannot exit, they should move to a safer area (e.g., most enclosed stairwells, an office with the door shut which is a good distance from the hazard, etc.)
      • If you do not know the safer areas in your building, call University Police at (111) or Environmental Health and Safety at 792-7101.
    • Individuals unable to be evacuated
      • Notify emergency responders immediately about any people remaining in the building and their locations.
      • Police or fire personnel will decide whether people are safe where they are and will evacuate them as necessary. The Fire Department may determine that it is safe to override the rule against using elevators.
      • If people are in immediate danger and cannot be moved to a safer area to wait for assistance, it may be necessary to evacuate them using a carry technique.

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For additional information refer to pamphlet “Emergency Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities”