Emergency Management Developments at Harvard Since 9/11

1. Emergency Management Developments at Harvard Since 9/11 Joe Griffin EH&S Director October 30, 2003

2. Responsibilities and Relationships • Anthrax scare strengthened ties among HUPD, EH&S, UHS, Facilities, News Office, University Operations Center, schools and city • Established teams at Executive, Operational Mgt. and staff levels in Central Administration • Local emergency teams formed in each school • Roles, responsibilities and emergency levels have been documented in plans and procedures • Established joint residential emergency planning initiative

3. Awareness and Training • Developed Crisis Management Plan • Provided emergency training to President’s staff • EH&S staff trained to OSHA HAZWOPR Technician level (24-hr.) • Provided training to HUPD and CFD • Conducted Red Cross Shelter setup/mgt. class • University Operations Center conducted training and drills • Closer LEPC coordination, Cambridge and Boston

4. Harvard Emergency Management Structure Local Emergency Management Teams E.g. Public Information Officer, Human Resources, Financial/Procurement, Facility Operations, Security, Information Technology, etc.

5. Communications • Developed standard communication protocols • Established Emergency Operations Centers • Automatic emergency notification system has been installed/tested in each Harvard school • Several conference call lines now established for emergency use • Training and drills conducted in communications procedures and equipment use

6. Emergency Communication Resources at Harvard • Emergency management listserve for rapid communication with all emergency teams at Harvard • Established new websitewww.emergency.harvard.edufor communication with community audiences • Conference call lines reserved, enabling offsite initiation of conference calls • Alphanumeric paging (240 character) can be triggered from any Web-enabled computer; system is also e-mail based • Paging system can notify individual teams, providing initial and ongoing instructions and information

7. Automatic Communications Sequence for Emergency Teams • Triggered by Operations Center, typically following HUPD notification. Calls are made to: • Office Phone • Pager • Cell Phone • E-mail • Home Phone • Must enter unique pass code to hear emergency message • Repeats sequence three times or until answered • Secure delivery and confirmation of receipt

8. Automatic Notification System • 24 phone lines installed = 24 simultaneous outgoing recorded messages to persons registered in system • Entire call sequence takes only seconds • Creates arrival time report by type of responder (e.g. plumber, HVAC mechanic) • Capable of FAXing and/or E-mailing status report to EOC or other locations

9. Conference Call Lines • Currently leased by many schools/depts. • 1-800 number, password required • Calls are scheduled, using alpha pagers to provide setup and instructions to callers • Up to 30 emergency responders per call • Enables simultaneous information distribution, staff deployment, response planning

10. Next Steps • Further work on sheltering/evacuation plans • More work on integration of teams • Continued development of local plans • More integration with local response agencies • Train, train, train • Drill, drill, drill