Do the Campus Administration and Public Safety have plans in place to handle major emergencies at KSU?
Yes. The details are contained in the KSU Emergency Response Manual (ERM). This text serves as a planning resource for campus response personnel and contains:
What types of emergencies does the ERM address?
The ERM addresses major emergencies and disasters only. The Department of Public Safety handles routine, minor emergencies within the context of their normal operations.
What constitutes a "major emergency or disaster" at KSU?
A major emergency or disaster is any incident, potential or actual, which is likely to disrupt the overall operations of the University for a prolonged period of time. Such incidents may involve large numbers of personnel casualties and significant property damage. Outside emergency services will be required, as well as aggressive and sustained recovery efforts on the part of campus response personnel. Major policy considerations and decisions will usually be required from the top University administration during this sort of crisis.
Who is responsible for carrying out the emergency response plan?
The Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT) consists of several members of the Campus community, each having specialized skills and experience necessary for carrying out emergency response operations. Members include:
How is the CERT activated?
Should a major emergency or disaster situation develop, the senior Public Safety officer on scene will notify (or otherwise ensure notification of) the Director of Public Safety and the designated "Incident Commander." While the Incident Commander immediately responds to the Campus to assume control of emergency operations, the Director will brief the Vice-President for Business and Finance and notify the remaining CERT members individually. All CERT members will subsequently gather at the designated Emergency Operations Center as soon as practicable to facilitate extended response and recovery operations.
What kinds of outside resources are available to KSU in the event of a major emergency/disaster?
In the event of a major emergency/disaster affecting KSU, primary "back-up" for campus emergency responders will be provided by Cobb County Police and Fire services in accordance with the standing Mutual Aid agreement between Kennesaw State University and the Cobb County Government. Additional surge and contingency response resources for which the CERT maintains updated contact information include, but are not limited to the:
Is the University ready to respond to a major emergency/disaster?
Clearly, no response organization can be fully prepared to handle every possible contingency at any given time. That being said, proactive planning, stressing operational flexibility, pre-arranged logistics, and formation of close working relationships between internal and external emergency service providers, will help ensure the University is ready to respond in the event of a crisis. We are as ready to respond as we can be, given the nature of the threat.
Remember, emergency preparedness is a team effort. As always, members of the Campus Community should remain aware of what is going on around them and report any suspicious/unusual circumstances to the KSU Police at 770-423-6666.