Emergency Action Planning

Every staff member, faculty member and student needs to know what to do in an emergency. Familiarize yourself with the following elements of emergency action planning. These steps are part of the university’s overall Information Emergency + Procedures and are integrated within the university Health, Safety and Environment Management System (HSEMS).

Emergency Plans

A Unit Action Plan provides the information needed during an emergency and meets provincial Office of Health and Safety requirements.

Get started:

The Unit Emergency Plan form will generate a plan supervisors can share, adapt and maintain

• A Unit Action Plan will cover your current workplace, or work unit, not the specific units for which you are responsible.
• It will reflect any emergency plan changes made by the Office of Emergency Management. 
• The plan should be shared within teams and reviewed/updated annually.
• The plan creator will receive a review reminder on the plan anniversary. 
• Enterprise Square tenants should consult the document for that specific location’s emergency procedures. 
• U of A units located in AHS buildings should consult their AHS contacts for emergency codes and procedures in those facilities.

Running emergency exercises

Meet with your team to discuss the plan and what each member’s role will be in the event of an emergency. Run exercises where you describe scenarios and ask “What would you do?" to encourage discussion. If you find gaps in the process or understanding, update your Unit Emergency Plan. 

The Office of Emergency Management is available at emergency@ualberta.ca if you would like them to conduct a table-top or simulation exercise for your team. 

Other considerations:

• The Operational Continuity Plan form contains the processes and backups that a department or unit will use to get back to work following an emergency. This detailed form takes 8-12 hours to complete.
• The Special Event Plan template is intended for short duration events in ad hoc or special spaces, frequently for people who are not workers, staff or faculty in the department.
• Field activity plans are a requirement for field research and some off-campus work. See the Field Research Office for additional resources.
• The First Aid Requirements form is to help you determine the levels and numbers of first aid support people and first aid kits* needed. First Aid and CPR training is available through Campus and Community Recreation. Kits can be purchased at most retail locations (there is not a preferred university supplier). 

* Note: First aid kits do not include Epinephrine (Epi-pens) for anaphylactic allergy or Naloxone to counteract an overdose. Epi-pens are only available by prescription and Naloxone is distributed to individual trained responders (though a trained person is permitted to carry Naloxone). 

Communicating during an emergency

Supervisors must be aware of incidents that could affect their team(s). Ensure team members know to call or text the supervisor should they not be present in the event of an emergency, including an evacuation. 

Communication:

• Best practices for supervisors include:
  • Be sure to have emergency contact information for all team members
  • Communicate using email, phone and Google Chat as needed
  • Download the MyUAlberta App to stay up-to-date on emergency details issued from the Office of Emergency Management
  • Research site supervisors: confirm your contact information in the Alberta Research Information Services (ARISE) System is up-to-date
• The university may use the following methods:
  • Email to occupant departments
  • Email to units based on their Operational Continuity Plans
  • Alertus speakers and desktop alerts
  • Email to all staff and students
  • MyUAlberta app notifications
  • Updates posted at uab.ca/emergency

Emergency Evacuation Drills

Evacuation may be required in a building due to a fire, a dangerous hazardous materials release or other reasons. 

Under the Alberta fire code, practices of emergency evacuation procedures, and reviews of these procedures, must be completed on a regular schedule based on the hazard types present and the characteristics of the building. 

• Residents of tall buildings must complete a fire drill every two months. Supervisors will receive reminders from your faculty and departmental safety staff.
• Those not in a laboratory setting, research site or studio will receive an email reminder every 3 months to complete a fire drill. 
• Most workplaces will receive one annual emailed reminder about evacuation procedures.
• Higher hazard buildings that contain laboratories, research sites, shops, studios and kitchens will also have an alarm-based evacuation drill practice, usually in the third week of September.

Review the standard evacuation instructions and customize them for your work area in your Unit Action Plan.

Recovering from an Incident

In the event of an incident, refer to your plans for processes as outlined in the Emergency Plans section of this page. If you do not have a plan, take these steps:

1. Determine which essential assets you have lost and must replace immediately
2. Consult these contacts, in order of precedence, for fixing these issues

Continuity Contacts