Safety at Rio

A LOCKOUT involves bringing all students from outside the building indoors, securing the building perimeter and locking all doors. This would be implemented when there is a threat or hazard outside of the building. Criminal activity, hazmat situations, dangerous events in the community, or even a vicious dog on campus grounds would be examples of a Lockout response. While the Lockout response encourages greater situational awareness from staff, it allows for educational practices to continue with little classroom interruption or distraction.

Remember:

Lockout protocol demands bringing students and staff into a building/classroom and locking or monitoring all outside access points.

Educational activities would continue uninterrupted.

If a Lockout occurs during class breaks, end of the day, start of work day, depending on the condition; these activities may have to be discouraged and/or delayed. Contingency plans may be necessary dependent upon the location of the incident. If the hazard manifests inside your location, situational decisions must be made and it may be necessary to evacuate to a different location.

During any emergency response or drill, your first responsibility is to ensure the safety of yourself and then the safety of those around you. Please follow the instructions announced and provided by College Police/Public Safety in the event of any emergency procedure.

A LOCKDOWN is a classroom-based protocol that requires locking the classroom door, turning off the lights and placing students out of sight of any corridor windows. Lockdown may be ordered due to an intruder, and angry or violent student, a domestic issue or active shooter. Student action during lockdown is to remain quiet. It does not mandate locking outside doors. There are several reasons for not locking perimeter doors during a lockdown. Risk is increased to students or staff in exposed areas attempting to lock outside doors. Locking outside doors inhibits entry of first responders and increases risk as responders attempt to breach doors.

Remember:

Be aware of your room’s access point and what may be used during a lockdown to block these access points.

A lockdown may persist for several hours, so silence is essential.

Under no circumstances should the door be opened until an "All Clear" has been issued by an emergency responder.

If the threat is imminent, evacuation to an unusual location or by unusual means may be required (climbing out a window). You may have to be prepared to defend the room or yourself by an intruder.

If an order to EVACUATE is announced over the alarm system, students and visitors should be directed to take their phones and proceed to the designated gathering location. If the evacuation announcement has specific instructions about where to gather, follow those instructions. If there are no specific instructions announced, please follow the evacuation instructions for your classroom or office.

Remember:

Each classroom or building suite has a red "Emergency" holder on the wall that includes an evacuation map.

Do not waste time. When in doubt, exit toward the nearest parking lot using stairs.

Once gathered in the parking lot, keep your group together and attempt to account for all individuals.

If a roster or sign-in sheet is available, please use this to account for the group.

If anyone from the room/office went missing during the evacuation, please notify College Police/Public Safety immediately.

Wait at the gathering location until Public Safety announces that the building is clear and safe to return. Be aware that this rally location may move depending on the location of the actual emergency.

SHELTER is called for when the need for personal protection from an environmental threat is necessary. Types of incidents that could prompt a SHELTER response would be a serious weather event or a hazmat incident. To effectively shelter, you must first consider the hazard and then choose a place that is safe for that hazard. For example, for a tornado, a room should be selected that is in an interior room on the lowest level away from corners, windows, doors and outside walls. SHELTER is critical for hazmat situations, first-responder situations (crime scene contamination) and extreme weather.

Remember:

Follow reverse evacuation procedures to bring students, faculty, and staff indoors.

If there are visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay – not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps now, where they are, and not drive or walk outdoors.

If students have cell phones, allow them to use them to call their emergency contact to let them know that they have been asked to remain in school until further notice, and that they are safe.

Provide directions to close and lock all windows, exterior doors, and any other openings to the outside.

Select interior room(s) above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents.

Take attendance. 

Listen for an official announcement from emergency responders, and stay where you are until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate.