Wardens
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Wardens are the largest body of volunteers on campus
By Meghan Sired
For more than 20 years, University of Calgary emergency wardens have been the largest body of volunteers on campus. Approximately 850 wardens are helping the university population through critical incidents, such as fires and chemical spills or releases.
As an important part of the university’s emergency response program, the wardens will be acknowledged at an appreciation event next week.
“All emergency wardens are volunteers who receive little recognition for their work and in some isolated cases are treated a little roughly by building occupants during an evacuation,” said Tom Williamson, the fire prevention officer at the U of C. “It’s important for the university to make these volunteers feel appreciated and important—or they may stop volunteering.”
The event takes place at two locations on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.—one on the main campus in the old ballroom in MacEwan Student Centre and the other in the atrium space between the Health Research Innovation Centre and the Heritage Medical Research Building.
Wardens are the first organized responders to fire alarms on campus. The information they collect and report enables City of Calgary emergency response teams to quickly understand the emergency and allocate their resources, said Williamson.
As the university’s emergency management program evolves, so too will the activities of wardens. In the future, wardens may be asked to help manage shelter-in-place scenarios—where people are asked to stay in a building as a result of severe weather, hazardous product releases or acts of violence. Also, the volunteers have been recently set up to receive warden-specific text messages to alert them to emergency situations.
To learn more about becoming an emergency warden email ucsafety@ucalgary.ca or visit www.ucalgary.ca/emergmgmt.
Three wardens who make a difference
Karrie Kreutz
Karrie Kreutz has been a senior emergency warden for the Olympic Oval for 18 years and has worked at the U of C for 20. She is in charge of 15 to 20 wardens and is the director of events for the Olympic Oval.
What do you like about being a warden?
The sense of satisfaction in knowing that I can make a difference in an emergency, by keeping our users safe.
What are some of the challenges of being a warden?
Staff training is the most challenging. People get tired of the bi-yearly presentation on the evacuation procedure.
What is one of the most noteworthy/scary/exciting emergencies you were involved in as a warden?
Anytime we are required to evacuate the facility for an ammonia alarm is scary and exciting, especially when we do it before the fire department gets here. But the most memorable alarm that I remember happened during a university reception on the third level. Everyone was having a wonderful time and the speeches had just begun when the alarm went off.
After going to the panel we identified it as a pull station on the third level right in the middle of the reception. Turns out that a parent holding a child was standing too close to the pull station and the baby (18 months old) reached out and gave it a pull. We didn’t evacuate but silenced the alarm and the reception continued in relative peace.
Has technology changed the role of the warden?
The role of the warden hasn’t changed that much. Our role is to ensure the safe evacuation of the facility in an emergency and that is what we do. The technology has changed, fire panels have been updated and made easier to read and understand, but the core of the program remains the same.
Michael Poland
Senior emergency warden Michael Poland is in charge of the McKimmie Library Block and has been a senior warden for more than 15 years. Poland has worked for the U of C for over 20 years. He started as a student assistant in the Reserve Reading Room in the library and currently, he is a specialist/advisor at the library where he catalogues monographs.
What are your roles as a senior emergency warden?
I am the liaison between Environment, Health and Safety and local area wardens in the library block. I also am involved in some of the warden training. If there is an event, an alarm, for example, I report to the Fire Marshal, Campus Security and Environment, Health and Safety at the block fire panel.
How many wardens are you in charge of?
20 people—although with our upcoming renovations this number will change.
What are some of the challenges of being a warden?
Recruitment of willing people to assist in an emergency—why wouldn’t one help one’s colleagues and one’s clients to safety?
What is one of the most memorable emergency situations you were part of, as a warden?
Years ago, during an emergency when I was a warden in the medical library, I had to “offer” a client, who was reluctant to leave the building, the option of being carried out by hoisting her over my shoulder fireman style. She then readily agreed to leave, on her own feet.
Are the roles of a warden different than they were when you started 18 years ago?
Yes, the previous emphasis was solely on fire evacuation; now, it is on an emergency of any kind.
Do you have any words of advice for people to stay safe on campus?
One has a legal obligation to evacuate any building—whether on campus or not—that has an emergency alarm activated. Follow the instructions a warden may give you, don’t wait to leave until you smell smoke and get well away from the building.
Sharon Shwed
Sharon Shwed has worked at the U of C in the Faculty of Medicine’s Support Service Office for 20 years. She has been a warden for 18 years, but is soon retiring from the program. She is in charge of four buildings: Health Sciences, the Heritage Medical Research building and two new buildings—the Teaching, Research & Wellness Building and the Health Research Innovation Centre, which are just starting to be occupied.
How many wardens are you in charge of?
Approximately 80.
What do you like about being a warden?
It is nice to be at the front line, knowing and being part of the process during an alarm.
What are some of the challenges of being a warden?
As every warden can tell you, we are always being challenged by individuals not wanting to leave the building during an alarm.
What is one of the most scary or exciting emergencies you were involved in as a warden?
Two years ago, we had a chemical spill in the HSC and were evacuated from the building for about six hours. As senior warden, I relayed information as I received it to staff scattered around the Foothills Hospital site, but mostly tried to keep open communications with other wardens. Because we did not have any means of communicating with cell phones or walkie-talkies, it meant many trips trekking back and forth to different posts where wardens were stationed on the Foothills Hospital grounds and building. The wardens were stationed at several key locations to re-route people away from the Health Science Building.
Are the roles of a warden different than they were when you started 18 years ago?
The Faculty of Medicine was much smaller 18 years ago, and as the faculty and the university grew, the program has grown and become more structured and organized with the tremendous leadership and support from people like Karen Jackson, Tom Williamson and others.