Cornell Emergency Planning
Introduction
Emergencies can occur at any time, without warning. Careful planning, with an emphasis on safety, can help members of the Cornell community handle crises and emergencies with appropriate responses, and my save lives. Every member of the Cornell community shares responsibility for emergency preparedness. College and Division heads are responsible for ensuring that their units have emergency plans. College and Division heads are also responsible for assigning emergency preparedness and response duties to appropriate staff members and ensuring that these employees know what the expectations and responsibilities are for these roles.
The primary goals of the Cornell Emergency Plan are:
- To protect lives, intellectual property and facilities.
- To prevent or minimize the impact of emergencies and to maximize the effectiveness of the campus community in responding to inevitable occurrences.
- To provide for the continuity of campus operations in pursuit of the Cornell's mission of teaching, research and extension.
Cornell's planning components
A complete emergency plan consists of two components:
- The Cornell Emergency Plan
- The College/Unit Emergency Plan (created and maintained at the unit level)
Together, these documents provide a management framework for responding to, recovering from, and continuation of business during and after an emergency that may threaten the health and safety of the Cornell community or disrupt its programs and normal operations.
The Cornell Emergency Plan establishes and outlines the university’s response to an emergency, and sets the standards for the creation of individual college/unit emergency plans.
The Unit Emergency Plan(s) is an adjunct to the Cornell Emergency Plan as are the other department plans. Together they provide the overall emergency plan for the entire campus. The Cornell Emergency Plan establishes an emergency leadership structure and is written in accordance with Emergency Planning Policy 2.10. A copy of this plan can be found at http://policy.cornell.edu/vol2_10.cfm
College/unit emergency plans outline the unit-specific response to an emergency, and must exist for each college/major administrative unit of the university. These plans must develop strategies for protecting people and programs, and documenting the critical functions that must continue during and after an emergency.
Responsibility of Units
It is the responsibility of each college/major administrative unit to develop and maintain plans consistent with the Cornell Emergency Plan and college/unit planning. The Office of Emergency Planning and Recovery has developed a Unit Emergency Planning Guide as a reference for the use by college and administrative units.
Colleges / major units will create and maintain these plans using the EPR system - a secure web-based tool. Restricted access to this tool is granted by OEPR (www.epr.cornell.edu).
It is also the responsibility of each college/unit to ensure their plans are kept up-to-date. Verification will be insured through an annual review process.
Emergency Levels
An emergency event at Cornell may be designated as a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 situation:
| Level 1 | A localized, contained incident that is quickly resolved with internal resources or limited help. |
| Level 2 | A major emergency that impacts portions of the campus, and that may affect mission-critical functions or life safety. |
| Level 3 | An emergency that involves the entire campus and surrounding community. |
The response actions of emergency personnel are guided by Cornell's desire to protect the following, in priority order:
- People
- Research animals and plants and intellectual property
- Facilities, equipment, and other property.