Purpose
To provide for an orderly evacuation of a college facility during an emergency, the following plan and operating procedures have been adopted.

Evacuation and Emergency Escape Procedures
In the event of an alarm sounding or other notice of evacuation, all persons including students, faculty, staff, and visitors should leave the building by the closest available exit in an orderly manner. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in the facilities.

Accountability for Students
Faculty should take attendance at the beginning of each class so that all persons may be accounted for after an evacuation. The instructor should evacuate the class and bring the roster to account for all students. It is preferable that doors are closed, but not locked, as classrooms are evacuated and the instructor ensures that the classroom is empty. The instructor should regroup the class at the evacuation site. Any student(s) unaccounted for should be reported to emergency response personnel immediately.

Accountability for Employees
Supervisors or designees should account for the employees in their immediate work area or department. Any employee(s) unaccounted for should be reported to emergency response personnel immediately. Because supervisors are responsible for accounting for employees, it is imperative that work groups reassemble in the designated evacuation site after evacuation.

Evacuation Sites
The primary evacuation site should be utilized when possible, but an alternate site is designated in case the primary site is unsuitable due to smoke/wind conditions or other factors.

Rescue and Medical Duties
Rescue and medical duties are to be performed by the appropriate county emergency response personnel including fire and rescue departments. Employees of the college are neither trained nor required to perform rescue and medical duties. Nothing in this procedure should be interpreted as to restrict employees from providing first aid or rescue assistance on a volunteer basis.

Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities
In the event of a building evacuation in Founders Hall or the Balsam Center, persons with mobility impairment who may be on an upper floor must use their own discretion to determine if using the elevator is more of a risk than waiting for rescue personnel to reach them.

Faculty and staff of the college cannot be required to lift or carry a person with a mobility impairment and this is not required as it is beyond the Office of Civil Right's definition of "minor assistance" and is considered to be "services of a personal nature" which are not required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This is not to imply that employees of the college are prohibited from offering this type of assistance during an emergency. If a person with mobility impairment does not utilize a wheelchair, but could benefit from assistance during an evacuation, office or computer lab chairs with rollers are readily available in every building.

Fire Drills and Mobility Impaired Individuals
Persons with mobility impairments may request advance notification of planned fire drills so that the individual can decide whether evacuation during the drill is advisable or would possibly pose a risk of injury. In this case, mandatory participation is not required for persons with mobility impairments. To request advance notification, the person with a documented mobility disability must notify Student Support Services. Student Support Services will provide Security with a list of such persons requesting advance notification once the student has requested the early alert service. Security Officers will notify the persons by telephone, in person, or by e-mail prior to the drill.