Training Objectives Explain Building Emergency Coordinator (BEC) program Clarify roles and responsibilities Provide program ground rules Discuss information and resources for BEC activities

What is the BEC Program? Establishes a point of contact for each department/college with assigned space in a building Department/college assigns primary and alternate for occupied buildings Program is coordinated by the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) and updated annually

Why does UWF need BECs? Campus includes ~100 buildings on 1600 acres plus several off-site facilities Population of ~13,500 faculty, staff and students Diverse campus facilities including academic buildings, health center, daycares, secure research labs, apartment-style housing, theaters, etc. YOU KNOW YOUR BUILDING BETTER THAN ANYONE!!!

…and because incidents happen

BEC Roles & Responsibilities Point of contact for safety & emergency preparedness information provided by UWF and other officials Liaison with EH&S, UWFPD and other officials in the event of an incident at your building Ensure completion of closure checklist and procedures before UWF closures

BEC Roles & Responsibilities Provide damage information to UWF following a large-scale incident such as severe weather Act as an information conduit for issues related to Facilities issues, i.e., scheduled utilities outages and building maintenance problems Read and follow BEC messages

BEC Ground Rules Do not put yourself or others in danger – don’t be a hero Follow all announcements from UWF and local officials Only wear BEC vest when there is a need to identify yourself and performing BEC functions Do not stay in a UWF building during a hurricane (only those performing essential functions, on- campus residents or those in UWF shelters should be on campus during closure) Return to campus only when safe

BEC Activities √ Building Information √ Building Threats √ Facilities Liaison √ Severe Weather √ Tropical Weather √ UWF Closures √ Damage Assessment √ BEC

Building Information Be knowledgeable of departmental space in building (critical issues, special circumstances, hazards, etc.) Maintain contact information for restricted areas Serve as conduit for emergency/preparedness information (building list, etc) Update appropriate emergency supplies such as hurricane closure materials Coordinate with other BECs in building including those from other departments/colleges

Building Threats Bomb Threats  Suspicious objects  Receiving a threat communication Fire  Fire Alarm Procedures Evacuate immediately Inform others they need to leave as you exit Try to have building occupants meet in Rally Point Act as liaison with emergency personnel Only attempt to extinguish the fire if it is small and you are comfortable using a fire extinguisher

Building Threats Shelter in Place  For Severe Weather/Tornados  Move away from windows  Move to lower in hallways  Try to keep people in the building  Chemical Leak -  Active Shooter Lock doors if incident person not in your building Run-Hide-Fight Police Liaison

Facilities Liaison Provides a point person for Facilities Provide information to building occupants Notify Facilities of building issues

Severe Weather – General Info √ Resources for monitoring severe weather √ NOAA Weather Radio √ Understanding weather warnings √ Watches √ Warnings

Severe Weather – Monitoring National Weather Service-Mobile, Al: Issues Watches & Warnings for area Campus specific and regional forecasts can be found at

Severe Weather – Monitoring Best way to receive weather warnings:  NOAA Weather Radio  Each building or department/college areas within a building needs a NOAA weather radio If weather radio reception is not available in your building, other possible options:  SMS/ alerts  Broadcast/cable television and radio

NOAA Weather Radio Specialized radio to able to receive NWS broadcasts Automatically alerts for weather watches and warnings (based on programming) When programming radio:  Escambia County S.A.M.E. Code –  Tune to Mhz (channel 2 on most models)

NOAA Weather Radio Can be purchased on-line or at most stores selling electronics Select radio with “Public Alert” logo- Example models include:  Midland WR-100  Recon R-1630  Radio Shack Avoid combo units without “Public Alert” logo Staff working outside may need portable models

Understanding Weather Warnings NWS change from county based warning to threat-based polygon warnings

Understanding Weather Warnings Warnings will still appear for Escambia County but only include areas inside the polygon/box

Tropical Weather / Hurricanes UWF follows forecasts issued by the National Hurricane Center – National Hurricane Center issues forecasts at 4AM, 10AM, 4PM and 10PM on active storms Coordinated campus response Campus Emergency Response activities activated if needed

Tropical Weather / Hurricanes BECs should monitor tropical weather information throughout hurricane season Important to read local tropical statements when issued by NWS-Mobile. Statements contain storm’s forecasted impact to our area including rain and wind (by County) NWS-Mobile holds webinars for Local Ems. You will be sent the presentations directly

UWF Closures – Weather Related UWF closure decision made by UWF President or her designee Issues coordinated with local officials via Escambia County Emergency Operations Center UWF closure is really suspension of normal activities. Many departments continue essential functions. (UWFPD, Facilities, etc.) Shelter(s) provided on campus for Public – HLS, B-13. Operated by Red Cross. Building-4 is the Student Shelter.

UWF Closures – BEC Activities Ensure completion of closure checklist(s) – lab/research area & office/administrative area versions Bring in or secure loose items outside of building(s) Secure vehicles Monitor information from UWF administration regarding operational schedules

Damage Assessment Complete initial damage assessment for your building(s) if needed following a severe weather incident or other large-scale incident Provide damage assessments to EH&S Damage assessment forms will be provided

Damage Assessment Different input forms for Building (exterior) and Rooms (interior) Paper version of forms can be used to gather information before entering electronically Forms can be found on the EH&S Website Take pictures of damage and include building & room number in image Directly contact work centers for urgent or critical items

Building 0002 Room 0499 Electronically add building & room numbers to pictures or include information on a piece of paper in the picture

UWF Emergency Notification Multimodal approach to campus-wide notification:  Text Messaging   Twitter  Facebook  Sirens  Lightning Prediction System  UWF Homepage & WUWF radio (official source for information) Current project underway to install speakers in campus buildings Important for BECs to provide your current emergency contact information to EH&S If BEC personnel change, please notify EH&S

Questions??? Peter Robinson, Director Office of Environmental Health and Safety Building 95 Extension