Environmental Health & Safety

Evacuation

Before an emergency, determine the nearest exit to your location, the safest route to follow, and alternate exits. Building evacuation routes are posted in campus buildings. If time permits during an evacuation, secure your workplace and take personal items such as keys, purse, medication, and glasses. In fire or other dangerous conditions, evacuate immediately leaving personal items behind.

Evacuation of a Building

1. Walk, do not run
2. Do not use elevators
3. People with a mobility impairment should report to the closest Area of Rescue Assistance as described in the section titled, "Evacuation for People with Disabilities."
4. Gather outside at your designated building staging area, where the emergency coordinator will take roll and account for all personnel. If you cannot return to your building, wait for instructions from Public Safety, or other individual in charge

Evacuation of a Classroom 

All the above steps should be followed. In addition, the instructor should ask students to assemble in the designated evacuation area for the building where the classroom is located. Missing students should be immediately reported to the Emergency Coordinator at the Assembly Area.

Evacuation Assembly Areas

Once outside, you should go to the predetermined Evacuation Assembly Area and report to the Emergency Coordinator. A bright vest will identify the Emergency Coordinator. The Emergency Coordinator will identify and log in those employees present. If the College has been closed, you should use your own vehicle to evacuate using routes designated by Public SafetyOfficers or by Police Officers.

Temporary Emergency Shelters/Casualty Stations

The following locations will serve as temporary shelters/casualty stations in the event of a serious emergency: Bradley Center Arena and Auxiliary Gym, Linden Hall Lounge, the Birch Tree Inn, the Pavilion, the Thomases Commons and the Berrie Center Sharp Theater and Rehearsal Halls.

Communications to Students, Employees, and the Public.

Messages for students and employees will be delivered via the:

"Closings/Special Announcement" line at (201) 236-2902
Campus radio station WRPR (90.3 FM)
RCTV

Commercial radio stations on the "Closings/Special Announcement" line:

WCBS (880 AM)
WGNY 1220 AM/ENERGY (103.1 FM)
WGHT (1500 AM)
WINS (1010 AM)
WOR (710 AM)

and through posted notices. A campus closing is signified by a sign in front of the Main Public SafetyBooth, indicating the time the College will reopen or the fact that it is closed.

In addition information will be provided through Alert Me Now as well as the Ramapo College Emergency homepage (http://www.ramapo.edu/emergency/).

Emergency Command Post Locations

In the event of an emergency, the College’s Command Post will be located in the Student Center.

The Secondary Command Post (in the event the primary is inoperable) will be in the Board Room of the Mansion (2nd Floor) or the Pavilion.

If the above areas are rendered inoperable, a Mobile Command Post will be set up on Campus.

Inquiries From the Media

You should refer all media inquiries to the Office of Institutional Relations (D 211), Extension 7602, 6844. Do not speculate on what has transpired. You may cause others great pain and suffering if inaccurate or premature information is publicly released. See the next section entitled, "Crisis Communication Plan" for more information.  

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Emergency Evacuation Plan / Residences
Fire Evacuation Procedures

1. When You Can Leave Your Room
   1. Learn the location of the two exits nearest to your room.
   2. When the fire alarm sounds, leave the building immediately. Feel the exit doors and doorknobs with the back of your hand. If they are not hot, open the doors slightly to check the hallway for flames and/or smoke. If smoke and/or fire are present, crawl low to the floor. If the smoke is heavy, grab a wet towel and place it over your face (nose and mouth) and take short breaths through your nose.
   3. Use the stairwells; DO NOT use the elevators.
   4. Warn fellow neighbors by knocking on doors on your way to the nearest exit. Assist any person in immediate danger to safety, if it can be accomplished without risk to you.
   5. Wear climate friendly clothing and flat non-slip feet ware (shoes, boots etc.).
   6. When you leave your room; close and leave the door unlocked if feasible. This will help to confine the smoke and fire to a smaller area and allow emergency response teams accessibility to conduct search and rescue when necessary.
   7. Avoid exiting the building through the front main lobby doors, use the side or rear exits of the building. This should help to avoid any collisions of exiting occupants with entering emergency responders.
   8. Proceed to the large red sign with your residence name; that is your designated Assembly Evacuation Area. Stand at least 150 feet from the building.
   9. DO NOT re-enter the building until instructed to do so by Fire, Police, Campus Public Safety or Residence Life Staff.
2. When You Can Not Leave Your Room
   1. Call 9-911 and advise the dispatcher of your location; do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to.
   2. Close the door to your room but do not lock it; the door can help hold back dangerous heat and smoke. An unlocked door should help to enhance search and rescue efforts.
   3. Grab a wet towel. Place it over your face (nose and mouth) if the smoke is heavy and take short breaths through your nose.
   4. Stay low where air is fresher.
   5. From within your room, check for smoke around the door cracks.
   6. Seal air ducts and any other openings where smoke may enter using wet sheets and wet pieces of clothing.
   7. Stay close to the windows, holding a wet towel to your face. Do not open the windows except to alert rescue personnel by hanging a white sheet or cloth out the window to signal your location.
   8. Exit your room or apartment only if you can safely do so.

Fire Evacuations: Residents with Disabilities

It is required that the appropriate College personnel know of any student’s with disabilities that limit their mobility, whether temporary or permanent. Attempting to carry immobilized persons is discouraged.

1. If an alarm is activated, the following procedures should be followed at all times:
   1. Accompanied by a partner, permanently immobilized persons who must rely on crutches, wheelchairs or walkers for transport should proceed into the stairwell and wait on the landing until additional help can be summoned.
   2. Blind but mobile persons should be guided through any rush of traffic and then promptly assisted to the nearest exit.
   3. Deaf but mobile persons, who may be unaware of the need to evacuate, should be calmly advised of the situation and guided to the nearest available exit.
   4. Temporarily immobilized persons, including people wearing casts and/or using canes or crutches, should be assisted, depending on their maneuverability.
   5. They should proceed into the stairwell and wait on the landing until additional help can be summoned.
   6. Emergency phones that automatically connect you to Campus Public Safety are located in the Core rescue areas. Give the Public Safety Officer your location (i.e. Core 3, floor 2). You may also call 9-911 and report your location to the dispatcher; do not hang up until the Public Safety Officer or dispatcher tells you to. The fire department will arrive to help complete the evacuation.

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Evacuation for People with Disabilities 

The most important factor in emergency safety for people with disabilities is advanced planning. Select professional staff members are aware of the location of students registered with the Office of Specialized Services that have a sensory, mobility or chronic health related issue that hinders their ability to evacuate.

In All Emergencies

After an Evacuation is Ordered 

• Assist with the evacuation of people with disabilities, if possible.
• Do not use elevators, unless authorized to do so by police or fire personnel. Elevators can fail during a fire or a major earthquake.
• Check on people with special needs during an evacuation. If possible, assist them in traveling to the closest Area of Rescue Assistance.
• Always ask someone with a disability how you can help before attempting any rescue technique or giving assistance. Ask how he or she can be best assisted or moved and whether there are any special considerations or items that need to come with the person.

Responses to Emergencies

Blindness or Visual Impairment
Bomb Threat, Earthquake, Fire, Hazardous Materials Release, and Power Outages     

• Offer to lead them out of the building to safety
• Give verbal instructions about the safest route or direction using detailed 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 arm as you exit, especially if there is debris or a crowd.
• Give other verbal instructions or information (e.g., elevators cannot be used).

Deafness or Hearing Loss
Bomb Threat, Earthquake, Fire, Hazardous Materials Releases, and Power Outages   

• Get the attention of a person with a hearing disability by touch or 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 the safest route or direction by pointing toward exits or evacuation maps.

Mobility Impairment
Bomb Threat, Earthquake, Fire, and Hazardous Materials Releases   

• It may be necessary to 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 an Area of Rescue Assistance 
• Notify the emergency coordinator 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.
• If people are in immediate danger and cannot be moved to a safer area to wait for assistance, it may be necessary to evacuate using an evacuation chair or a carry technique. Evacuation chairs (Evacu-Trac chairs) are located in every Area of Rescue Assistance in the Academic Building Cores, and in the stairwells (upper most floor) of the Library, G building, H Building, Student Center Annex, Berrie Center, Maple Hall, Oak Hall, Pine Hall, Linden Hall and the Thomases Commons. These chairs are only to be used by trained personnel.

Power Outages 

• 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 with natural light that is also near a working telephone. During regular working hours, Emergency Coordinators 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 Public Safety at extension 6666.
• Some campus telephones may not operate during a power outage, but pay telephones and mobile phones are likely to be operating. As soon as information is available, the campus emergency information line (236-2902) will have a recorded message stating when power is likely to be restored.

Areas of Rescue Assistance

Areas of Rescue Assistance are areas, which have direct access to an exit, where people who are unable to use stairs may remain temporarily in safety to await further instructions or assistance during emergency conditions. Each Area of Rescue Assistance has a phone and is identified by a white sign with green lettering. Consistent with local codes, areas of rescue assistance are enclosed with fire separation assemblies having the appropriate fire resistance rating located immediately adjacent to an exit. Become familiar with the closest Area of Rescue Assistance. The Emergency Coordinator or Resident Assistant/ Community Assistant can provide you with this information.

Academic Areas 

The cores in the Academic Buildings are considered Areas of Rescue Assistance. A core is the area that joins two wings. The area between the Library and the A wing is referred to as Core 1. The last core is at the end of the E wing and is called Core 6. Each first floor front entrance will have a number that corresponds with the respective Core. In addition the landing of each floor of the G building is considered an Area of Rescue Assistance. The doors to each of these areas are held open by magnetic hold open devices where, in the event of a fire, the door leafs are automatically released to close. The stairwells in the Berrie Center are also considered Areas of Rescue Assistance.

Campus Housing: Oak Hall, Maple Hall, Pine Hall, the Lodge and Linden Hall 

The stairwells are the Areas of Rescue Assistance and the upper most floor has an Evacu-Trac chair in each stairwell. Resident Hall rooms qualify as an area of rescue because:

• They are fully sprinklered, 
• Two way communication is available (phone), 
• The doors, walls, and ceiling are fire-rated, 
• Most rooms have windows (for fresh air or to make a signal).

Campus Housing: Phase I and Phase II Apartments, The Village 

These areas are fully sprinklered, however, do not qualify as an area of rescue assistance.

The route of evacuation from campus will be dependent upon the type and location of the emergency.  We will provide instructions at the time of evacuation directing the locations on campus to which exit they will be using.  Should evacuation be required, our goal is to provide access to the campus to emergency/response vehicles while safely and expeditiously clearing the campus of its occupants.

Students without transportation will be instructed where to report for evacuation services.  Please report to the location specified immediately.

The campus currently has 2 regularly used entrance/exits.  We will use all exits available that are not close in proximity to the emergency situation.  In extreme cases we will use the emergency exit located through the North Fields Athletic complex.  (This will only be used if it expedites evacuation from campus.)

In most emergencies we will have the assistance of local emergency responders.  Please follow the directions given to you by the emergency responders (RCNJ Public Safety officers and local Police and Fire Department(s)).  It is most likely that whether you usually use Route 17 or Route 202 you may not be directed to the exit closest to that travel route.  Our goal is to get you off campus quickly.  We suggest you have alternate travel routes identified for each exit and direction; you may be directed to use an exit you don’t usually use for your trip home.

We may evacuate campus in an emergency.  Your cooperation is critical to quickly exiting the campus property.  As you get to your car and begin to exit, please pay attention to your surroundings, don’t do anything that may distract so you can clearly see the directions given you by the officer(s) assigned to direct traffic.  Stay calm and drive safely

Ramapo College is concerned about the well-being of its population. This page has been designed to educate faculty, staff, and students and prevent against emergencies during Severe Weather.

It is a good common practice to become familiar with the designated “areas of shelter” for each building that you find you are regularly in. You might be living in one of the residence halls, working on campus, or attending regularly scheduled classes. The links to each building/floor can be found here (website).

We will do our best to send out an Alert Me Now notification to notify all faculty, staff, and students of the Severe Weather emergency and provide some instruction, but there are instances when these events occur without much warning at all.

When there is a Severe Weather event, and you find yourself inside one of the campus buildings, it is best to hide out in:

• Interior hallway
• Interior classroom (stay away windows or doors)
• Inside bathroom

Note: Use stairways instead of elevators, in case of power failure.

If you are on campus but you are outside, please:

1. Try to get to the nearest building as quickly as possible.
2. If you find that there is no time, lie flat and face-down on the ground in a low area. Protect your head. Try to stay away from trees or other large objects that may be thrown or fall on you.

Note: Vehicles are extremely dangerous during a tornado. If you are in your vehicle, get out and follow the above instructions.

Wait for an “all clear” message from Alert Me Now.