Loss of Essential Services

Interruption of essential services may include any of the following:

  • Electric power failure
  • Natural gas interruption
  • Heating, ventilation, or air conditioning malfunction
  • Water: contamination, shortage, or stoppage
  • Waste removal malfunction/interruption
  • Telephone/communication interruption

Preparedness

All community members/departments should:

  • Know the locations of alarm pull stations, fire extinguishers, and emergency exits.
  • Consider potential escape routes.
  • Make sure all hallways and escape routes are clear.
  • Place Office of Campus Security phone number stickers on their phone.
  • Carry laminated NYIT emergency information card with them at all times.
  • Develop an emergency phone chain (with home and cell phone numbers).
  • Designate an off-campus evacuation meeting place.
  • Make the Office of Campus Security aware of individuals within their department who may need special assistance during an emergency.
  • Make the Office of Campus Security aware of any chemicals or other items that may be of concern during an emergency.

Office of Campus Security will:

  • Know and clearly mark designated locations of alarm pull stations, fire extinguishers, and emergency exit doors.
  • Identify any individuals who may require special attention such as persons with disabilities and their locations on campus.
  • Identify location of chemicals or other items that may be of concern during an emergency.
  • Develop emergency location posts for individuals to move toward in the event of evacuation (100 feet from building).
  • Maintain clear hallways and escape routes in all buildings.
  • Identify and train fire evacuation wardens.

Primary Response Team

  • NYIT campuses: Office of Campus Security; Long Island residences: University police; New York City residences: 911
  • Director of facilities or designee
  • Office of Housing and Residential Life staff
  • Office of the Dean of Students staff/ coordinator of campus operations and student services staff

Secondary Response Team

  • Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs
  • Office of Human Resources
  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
  • Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

Objectives
Secure the safety of all NYIT community members during an interruption of essential services. Rapidly and safely evacuate all individuals from the campus if evacuation is determined to be necessary by the emergency response team.

Notification
Follow the established chain of primary responders. If the situation has caused loss of life or lives are threatened, immediately call 911. The Office of Campus Security will be the first NYIT responders in all emergency events and should be notified immediately.

Procedures

For community members:

  • If you notice an essential service has been interrupted, report the outage to the Office of Campus Life.
  • Follow campus security instructions.
  • Monitor updates via email and the emergency information phone number, Ext. 1010.
  • If your building is being evacuated, follow the Building Evacuation Policy.

For primary responders:

  • Respond to scene; initiate emergency response phone chain by calling the director of facilities operations.
  • Notify all building occupants of the emergency and the need to evacuate the building.
  • Provide assistance as necessary to individuals with special needs. Refer to Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities Guidelines.
  • Advise evacuees to use staircases for escape. Prohibit use of elevators.
  • Move evacuees toward designated emergency location posts (100 feet from building). Identify alternative locations if designated locations are blocked or impacted by the emergency.

Follow-up:

  • Engage campus recovery procedures as outlined by the offices of Facilities and Campus Security, University Police (SUNY OW), and external law enforcement and"helping" agencies.
  • Continue to provide accurate and appropriate information regarding the incident to the Office of Strategic Communications and External Affairs and the Office of the President throughout event and after.
  • Meet with campus constituencies and stakeholders for information processing.
  • Determine if students are able to return to campus housing.
  • Document incident according to established procedures.