May 19, 2011

Taking proactive steps in case of emergency

Ricky Gysen, a campus security officer, went from room to room Monday, unlocking offices and labs giving the building’s occupants the all-clear for the lockdown exercise.
Photo by Riley BrandtMonday morning, a lockdown exercise in the Biological Sciences building was conducted by the university in order to evaluate and improve the university’s emergency response plan, and create awareness within the campus community about emergency preparedness.

The exercise involved multiple university departments and groups including the emergency response team, emergency wardens, senior administration, university relations, occupants of the Biological Sciences building and even the Calgary police. In the coming weeks, all groups involved will evaluate what went well and what can be improved.

Thank you to all of the participants in the exercise including building occupants. Your cooperation ensured a successful drill.

One of the many tools the university uses to communicate about an emergency is text messaging. For the May 16 lockdown exercise, occupants in the Biological Sciences building who registered for emergency text messaging received a notification. Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to register for the university’s emergency text messaging system. This system is only used in the case of an emergency. The system sends a short text message to cell phones of those who have signed up. There is no cost to sign up for this service. Sign up for the emergency text message notification.

The university is committed to providing a safe environment for our faculty, staff and students. Therefore, it is important for us as an institution to practise our emergency response plans. If your faculty or department has questions about emergency response planning, please contact Brian Kitching, emergency response plan coordinator, at bmkitchi@ucalgary.ca or 403-210-6510.