Section III- Site-Specific Information

Hazardous materials emergencies can affect employees at the facility as well as people in the surrounding communities.

• If your location is close to heavily traveled highways, railways, and near various industries, it can be exposed to hazardous materials from an unplanned release.
• The Director of Crisis Management will correspond directly with all federal, state, and local governmental agencies.  Therefore, the response will be based on recommendations from these governmental agencies.
• Employees and visitors—all building occupants—will be notified and given the course of action to be initiated and the routes to use.

Courses of Action

• General evacuation:  Announce evacuation routes to employees.  Follow WPCC’s General Evacuation Procedure.  All employees and other building occupants will exit to a predetermined point of assembly as defined in the Fire Evacuation Plan – Addendum B).
• Staggered evacuations:  The location would be evacuated in sections.  All building occupants would leave to a predetermined point of assembly.
• Designate restricted areas:  Contaminated areas of a location would be evacuated. Employees and other building occupants would be advised as to what areas are deemed “safe.”
• Isolate building:  If authorities order that people be sheltered in place, employees and building occupants would remain in the building.  Outside air sources, such as fans and doors, would be shut down.

At the first opportunity, contact the following divisions and personnel:

• Director:  Sandy Hoilman, Vice-President for Administrative Services/CFO  extension 6025
  Home: (828) 874-2549
• Emergency Planning Committee Members:  Special Response Team II
• Public Relations:  Jim Burnett, President extension 3100 Home: (828) 584-3972
• Manager:  Vice-President for Academic Affairs  extension 6048  Home: 336-413-9063

On-Site Spill of Hazardous Materials

In the event WPCC’s location has a hazardous waste spill involving any material known to be hazardous or any material that is unknown, the following steps should be followed:

• Call to report the spill as soon as possible: Morganton Department of Public Safety 9 – 911 and  Campus Security extension 3500, 6000 or 6196.
• If  trained and can do so safely, stop the source of the spill.
• Contain the spill from entering waterways or drains.

On-Site Air Release of Hazardous Materials

In the event there is release of potentially harmful material such as pipe insulation or gases into the air,  follow these steps:

• Evacuate employees and visitors (all building occupants) from the immediate area affected.
• Contact the Morganton Department of Public Safety for assistance, at (828) 437-1211.
• If  trained to do so, try to stop the source of the release.

A list of on-site hazardous materials MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets), and their locations, are maintained in a bright yellow Right-to-Know Book in the following areas:

• Moore Hall 10A

In the event of an earthquake and/or structural failure, there will be very little, if any, warning time in which to react.  Advise everyone (all building occupants) to take the following actions:

• If  inside, protect yourself immediately by going under the nearest table or desk.
• During the tremors, do not attempt to exit the building.  Most fatalities occur when people fail to take cover.
• When tremors have stopped, evacuate immediately.  Damage to the structure is likely.
• Follow the facility’s general evacuation plan.
• If the building is not to be reoccupied, follow the facility Alternate Site Relocation Plan.
• Do not enter a damaged building until the Director of Crisis Management gives approval to reenter the structure.

Important note:  At the first opportunity,  shut off utility service to the building structure if damage occurred.  Services should remain off until the building can be inspected.

The next section covers averting and responding to armed robberies at the facility.  A Description of Physical Characteristic Form is provided.  The form can also be used to record characteristics of perpetrators of other types of criminal activities.

 

Preventing Robberies

Employees should take the following daily precautions to prevent break-ins and robberies at the facility.

• Check all security equipment.
• Do not discuss cash levels and security procedures outside of work.
• Be alert for suspicious persons loitering in or near the workplace.
• Be alert for unfamiliar or suspicious vehicles near the workplace.
• Suspicious activity should be reported to the supervisor.

Robbery in Progress

If employees encounter a robbery taking place, they should follow these procedures.

1. Remain calm and avoid any action that might incite the robber to act violently.  The robber may be nervous, and further excitement by the employee can cause the robber to panic and harm the employee or bystanders.
2. Obey the robber’s instructions, even if it appears that employees cannot be harmed.  Money and property are not worth the price of a life.
3. Activate the Security Emergency Icon (located on desktop of computer) at a safe time, or when the robber is leaving.  Do not let the robber see the icon being pressed; it may further incite the robber to violence.

After the Robbery

Immediately after the robbery, employees will be checked for possible injuries.  Once that has been established, follow these steps:

1. Immediately call the local police department.
2. Close and secure the office until the police arrive.  This procedure will help preserve the scene of the crime for fingerprints and other physical evidence.
3. Preserve any notes that the robber may have written, such as a request for money/valuables.
4. Each employee involved in the incident should write down his/her own description of the robber and events and should complete the Physical Characteristics Form that is supplied.  Employees should not confer with other witnesses or compare notes.

Workplace Violence

All employees are entitled to a safe and violence-free workplace.  If an employee knows of a potential concern or need to report an incident, he/she should contact his/her supervisor or human resources staff at: extension 3126 or 3127.

Description of Physical Characteristics Form

Please record as many details for each category as possible:

Do not discuss any details of the event until the police are through taking statements from you and your co-workers.  Thank you for your cooperation.

The following material describes how WPCC should handle the media during any on-site emergency.  Any type of event may bring the press to our community college.  The fact is that the public is represented by the press.  The news media have a legitimate right to information that may concern WPCC’s faculty/staff, and the community.  Remember that through the release of factual information by our designated spokesperson, the spread of false information is prevented.

Duties of College Spokesperson

To best serve the interests of the facility, The President, Jim Burnett, will be designated as the spokesperson.  The Vice-President for Student Development, will be the backup spokesperson.  In case the spokesperson is off campus, the amount of time it will take for him or her to arrive in a reasonable amount of time to “meet the press”, will be considered.

The designated spokesperson should do the following:

• Gather all available information to determine if it is necessary to set up a press headquarters.  A press headquarters office can help keep all press people in one area.
• If the incident or disaster occurred at a college facility, set up the press area away from incident area.
• Remain in contact with the press.
• Provide information that is factual.
• Log and record all information given to the media.
• Avoid speculation on causes of events, amount of damage, and seriousness of injuries.
• Never release names of persons to the press.  Let law enforcement agencies do so.
• Always stress the positive.

Notifying Relatives of Injured Employees, Contractors, and/or Visitors

When relatives of people injured in an emergency need to be notified, follow these steps:

1. Use a previously appointed member of Senior Administration (President, and/or Vice Presidents) to notify the relatives of the injured.
2. Determine what occurred, the number of persons injured, and the extent and seriousness of the injuries.
3. Determine where the injured were taken.
4. Once information is obtained, brief the previously designated member of Senior Administration, and have him or her go to the injured person’s relatives’ homes or workplaces to notify them of the occurrence.
5. Always do notifications in person.

In the event that an emergency, such as a fire or chemical release, could impact the Emergency Operations Center/Information Center in Lobby of Moore Building, the Director of Crisis Management will designate an Incident Site Command Center that is outside the danger zone.