National security concerns have drawn new attention to emergency planning at universities and colleges, but campus administrators at the University of Colorado at Â鶹¹ÙÍø said today emergency response planning has long been a priority for the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus.
"Although we have no specific reason to think we would be a target, we have emergency plans in place and our campus administration is ready to implement a plan of action to respond in the event the university is faced with a major emergency," said Richard L. Byyny, chancellor of the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus.
"The safety of our students, faculty and staff is our utmost priority at all times," Byyny said. "Prior to these recent developments, our campus administration had implemented an emergency response plan and routinely practices emergency response procedures to improve preparedness.
"However, we will continue to improve our efforts to ensure the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus is prepared to respond in case of a campuswide or larger emergency," Byyny said.
The CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus operates under the Incident Command System, or ICS, which is used by the State Office of Emergency Management and by public safety departments throughout the nation for emergency response, said Chief Jim Fadenrecht of the CU Police Department.
The campus also is part of the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Area Multiple Agency Coordination System, referred to as MACS, which is used by the city of Â鶹¹ÙÍø, Â鶹¹ÙÍø County and other Â鶹¹ÙÍø County municipalities to ensure that all the agencies coordinate their responses in the case of a major event, including weather and other emergencies.
"CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø is well positioned to handle an emergency and we are probably better off than most universities because we have made emergency planning a priority and we have practiced numerous emergency scenarios for a number of years," Fadenrecht said.
"Our staff have well-defined responsibilities in case of an emergency and we have established a bridge to external players -- including the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Fire Department, the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Police Department, the Â鶹¹ÙÍø County Sheriff's Department and many other first responder agencies -- that is essential in a real emergency," he said.
Although the campus could be faced with a crisis "that is completely unpredictable," Fadenrecht said CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø "is well positioned to respond."
In the event of a campus emergency involving injuries, standard emergency response would include emergency medical support.
The MACS system assigns priority status to emergency events using a system of four modes with Mode 1 being the least severe and requiring the lowest level of response and coordination among agencies and Mode 4 being the highest level of emergency and requiring a high level of coordination among local, state and national organizations.
CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø's Police Department also is staffed by commissioned police officers who undergo the same training that officers in Colorado's municipal and county law enforcement departments receive.Ìý
In 1998 CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø hired Tom Carney as the campus Emergency Management Coordinator to lead emergency planning. A former director of communications for Routt County, Colo., Carney chairs CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø's Emergency Management Operations Group, or EMOG, and represents the university on MACS. His background is in public safety and public service positions, and he has served in numerous commanding and planning positions in the U.S. Army.
Carney began drafting CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø's Emergency Plan shortly after his arrival and the plan was later adopted by the Â鶹¹ÙÍø campus administration.
The CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Emergency Plan consists of an Umbrella Plan outlining procedures for a major emergency and identifying departments responsible for planning, emergency response, business continuity and business recovery planning. Implementation of the plan is assigned to EMOG, which consists of about 20 departmental representatives and representatives of several Â鶹¹ÙÍø area emergency agencies.Ìý
EMOG reports to the Policy Group consisting of Chancellor Byyny and members of his cabinet, which is assigned to make policy decisions in the event of a major emergency.
For more information on the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Emergency Plan and additional emergency preparedness resource links check the Web at: . The CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Department of Public Safety Web site also provides information on safety and emergency planning and response at: .
On Feb. 19 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rolled out a new emergency program titled "Be Ready," which can be viewed on the Web at .