UC IRVINE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Responsible Office: Environmental Health & Safety Issued: July 2003

UCI Administrative Policies & Procedures

Section 903-40, Emergency Management Policy

Personnel Procedures for UCI Staff Members
Procedure 32, Overtime (Non-Exempt Employees Only)

UCI Emergency Management Plan

Contact: EH&S at (949) 824-6200

A. Emergency Management Plan

The University of California, Irvine takes a positive and proactive approach to emergency management with the aim of minimizing the loss of life and property. To accomplish this, UCI has developed an Emergency Management Plan (EMP) and associated Incident Pre-Plans, Zone Plans, and Component/Special Emergency Response Plans maintained by Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S). The goal of these plans is to allow for rapid and efficient mobilization of University resources necessary to handle emergencies. Although the response will depend on the nature of the emergency and related circumstances, certain areas such as Facilities Management, University Police, and EH&S are normally involved in emergency situations and are critical to emergency management. The emergency response plans will be activated when the University and/or its surrounding community have been subjected to a major emergency situation, and casualties or events have exceeded or impacted the resources normally available.

1. Emergency Declaration and Immediate Response

Any member of the campus community who is aware of an emergency situation should take immediate steps to protect themself, notify nearby endangered people, and call 911 to initiate the campus' emergency response systems. The UCI Police Department will evaluate the situation and will immediately notify the appropriate Incident Pre-Plan Manager.

2. Emergency Management Committee

The UCI Emergency Management Committee is composed of representatives from the major areas of the campus and is lead by the Director-EH&S. The Committee administers the EMP and is responsible for ensuring that the campus is prepared to deal with any emergency and that Incident Pre-Plans, Zone Plans and Component/Special Response Plans have been prepared and kept up-to-date.

B. Emergency Response Plan Organization

As part of the overall EMP, specific emergency response plans are maintained by various campus departments. These plans pertain to specific incidents and describe the response activities of the department involved. An EMP illustration shows how the various plans are related.

1. Incident Pre-Plans

An Incident Pre-Plan (IPP) is a compilation of procedures designed to handle a specific type of incident. The person holding the position designated in the Incident Pre-Plan chart is considered the IPP Manager and is responsible for developing, communicating, and implementing a written IPP for the stated event(s) unless otherwise determined by the UCI Emergency Management Committee. IPPs must be submitted to EH&S and placed on the Emergency Management Plan web site. These plans will be updated as appropriate, but not less than every three years.


2. Zone Plans

Zone Plans are developed to provide guidance when a major emergency requires mass evacuation. The campus has been divided into specific zones in which to coordinate the evacuation from one or more buildings on campus. These zones can be viewed on the UCI Emergency Response Zone Map. Zone Plans identify responsibilities of the Zone Captains, Building Managers and Floor Wardens, and the specific procedures to follow in order to safely evacuate buildings and account for missing people.


3. Central Administration Plans

In order to ensure involvement and compliance by University personnel, certain departments such as Environmental Health and Safety, UCI Police and Facilities Management, develop unique emergency plans not already addressed in the EMP or in an IPP. These central administration plans will include department, area, or facility-specific procedures to be followed during an emergency.

1. EH&S Emergency Response Team (ERT) Plan - The EH&S Emergency Response Team (ERT) is responsible for responding and overseeing various minor spills and releases including chemical spills, biological and radiological releases, as well as small fires and safety incidents. Additionally, EH&S will respond and provide support to large incident responses such as fires, earthquakes and major safety incidents. The EH&S ERT Plan contains specific response procedures that EH&S will follow when an emergency is reported. It contains guidelines for notification and activation, management of the Incident On-Scene Command Post, and clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the ERT.
2. UCI Police Emergency Response Plan - The UCI Police Department maintains specific tactical response procedures for various types of police escalations in the UCI Police Response Plan
3. Facilities Management Emergency Response Plans - The UCI Facilities Management group maintains specific response plans that provide guidance and direction for responding to facilities related incidents such as power, other utility outages, and damage repair in buildings.

4. Component (Department) Notification Plans and Special Plans

   In some cases, there will be a need for small, targeted plans to be developed to provide detailed information for small sections or functional areas of the campus.

1. Component (Department) Notification Plans - Many departments will find it necessary to develop and maintain a Component (Department) Notification Plan for their area. It will provide a process for contacting faculty and staff, and making other necessary internal and external notifications.

2. Special Emergency Response Plans - When a particular operation requires response actions during an emergency, the administrators responsible for that operation should develop specific procedures using the templates in the Appendix of the EMP. An example of a Special Emergency Response Plan would be the Nuclear Reactor Emergency Procedures.

C. Incident Management

Upon declaration of an emergency, the Incident Management System (IMS) will be instituted. The IMS is a system that provides for clear command, control, and effective resource management of an emergency. While many operations will continue with "business as usual," some areas may be required to provide support to the IMS for management of the emergency.

1. Emergency Operations Center

Overall management of an emergency under the IMS will be centralized in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The primary role of an EOC is to bring together all relevant information about the emergency in one place, organize that information into a useful format, and facilitate the coordination of resources needed to respond to the emergency. The EOC is located away from the areas of highest activity to avoid interference with campus operations, but is close enough to provide reasonable access to current information. The EOC has access to multiple forms of communication, is capable of 24-hour operation, and can be secured from unauthorized access.

The EOC Director for UCI is the Vice Chancellor-Administrative & Business Services. Once the EOC has been activated, the EOC Director has full authority to make decisions and implement tactics necessary for the prompt and efficient response to the emergency.

2. EOC Activation

Activation of the EOC may occur under any of the following circumstances:

• the size of the incident requires logistical support beyond that available on-scene;
  
• the emergency is of long duration;
  
• the magnitude of the event requires external resources or implementation of unified command; or
  
• the pertinent Incident Pre-Plan specifically calls for activation of the EOC.
  
  

Campus Police will evaluate the situation and will immediately notify the appropriate emergency responders (e.g., fire department) and, if the situation approaches a major occurrence, will also notify the following:

• Incident Pre-Plan Manager
  
• Chief of Police (or designee)
  
• Vice Chancellor for A&BS (or designee)
  
• Director, EH&S (or designee)

The Chief of Police, Vice Chancellor for A&BS, Incident Pre-Plan Manager, and Director, EH&S will immediately confer as to whether or not a major campus emergency will be declared and the EOC activated. If a major campus emergency is not declared, the incident will be managed by the On-Scene Incident Manager. If the Vice Chancellor for A&BS formally declares a major campus emergency, the Executive Vice Chancellor or designee will immediately be notified. Additional notifications and specific instructions will be initiated as discussed in section D.


3. Incident On-Scene Command Post

   In the event an emergency does not meet EOC activation criteria, management will take place at the site of the incident. An Incident On-Scene Command Post should be set up in a safe area adjacent to the physical location of the emergency. Like the EOC, the Command Post is the primary location from which emergency response activities and decisions are made. The Incident Manager is in charge of the Command Post.

D. Communicating with the Campus Community

In the event of a major emergency, immediate notification will be made to the campus community via ZotMail. UCI Communications will coordinate efforts to inform faculty, staff, students, and the public of the emergency conditions. If appropriate, specific information about the campus will be available from the UCI Community Alert Network telephone system, (866) IRV-NEWS (866-478-6397). Information may also be posted on the university's preparedness Web site. Information conveyed will include what portion of the campus is closed due to the emergency and other issues concerned with general safety. Departments such as Athletics and others sponsoring public events are responsible for advising their customers about the status of events if an emergency has been declared.

E. Work Schedules During Emergency

The effectiveness of UCI emergency management depends upon the support and rapid response of personnel. The EOC Director will determine which employees play a critical role in emergency control and which employees, students, and community members are required to leave the site of the emergency for safety reasons. These decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and may affect only a portion of the campus. Employees not affected by the emergency will remain at their normal work stations and follow their normal work schedules.

1. Critical Employees

Employees designated as critical are expected to give their full support and attention to emergency management. They will be paid for hours worked (including overtime for non-exempt employees if 40 hours per week is exceeded). In addition, to acknowledge their dedication and support, both exempt and non-exempt employees will be granted additional compensatory time off, at the straight-time rate, for actual hours worked during the emergency. If, due to the nature of the emergency, compensatory time cannot be taken in accordance with the time limits listed in Personnel Procedure 32 or applicable union contract, an extension may be approved by the appropriate Dean, Director, or department head. Compensatory time taken in such cases is not considered time worked for overtime compensation purposes.

2. Non-critical Employees Required to Leave the Work Site

Employees required to leave their worksite for safety reasons will report their time off as paid administrative leave. This time is not considered time worked for overtime compensation purposes. Employees on previously approved sick or vacation leave or on a shift assignment or working in an area not affected by the emergency are not eligible for the paid administrative leave.