Be prepared

George Hines.

Director of Emergency Management George Hines and his team are dedicated to prioritizing the safety and preparedness of the campus community. The Office of Emergency Management (OEM), under Yale Public Safety, crafts comprehensive emergency plans while fostering a culture of readiness through training, drills, and collaboration. 

“Our primary responsibility is to prepare the Yale community for emergencies that could arise on campus or as a result of events happening elsewhere in the country or world,” said Hines.

Plan, Evaluate, Respond 

Natural or human-caused emergencies can occur at any time — a leaking roof or ceiling, power or system outage, chemical release, fire, blizzard, or hurricane, to name a few. Hines and his team communicate with the Yale community primarily through the Yale ALERT system, which sends messages by voice, text, and email, and by posting updates to the LiveSafe app and the Yale status board. 

OEM collaborates with the Emergency Operations Team (EOT), comprising over 60 Yale administrators and officials from Yale New Haven Hospital and the cities of New Haven and West Haven. During monthly meetings, OEM provides an overview of local or worldwide events or trends and the potential impact on campus, ensuring preparedness for various emergencies. 

The EOT also participates in training drills, including simulations such as a major explosion and chemical release, a fire in a residential facility, a mass casualty event on campus, and international travel during a flu pandemic. 

“An important facet of the EOT is they are prepared to step in if a major event occurs on campus,” said Hines. “They have knowledge of how to handle emergencies and the ability to communicate directly with their units.” 

OEM and Yale Public Safety also work closely with local, state, regional, and federal agencies on pre-planning for large campus events like Commencement or athletic games to minimize risk and any effects safety-planning and procedures may have on the event itself.

Emergency Operations Center 

In the event of a major emergency, the university can activate an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) under the direction of the senior vice president for operations and the vice president for human resources. Depending on the circumstances, the EOC would direct evacuations, temporary housing, business continuity, and all emergency services. The EOC would also oversee internal communications, logistics, and interactions with the press. 

For more localized emergencies, units would refer to their business continuity plan — a document created with guidance from OEM that provides specific details on how to react to a variety of disruptions. “It outlines a path of instructions to get your department back to normal, or at least functioning through supplementary operational procedures. In a nutshell, it’s designed to keep your unit in business,” said Hines. 

The importance of having these plans became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID changed everything,” said Hines. “For instance, using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to communicate with colleagues was not a common practice before the pandemic. Now, how to hold a meeting after a disruption is part of all our business continuity plans.” 

Staying on top of trends 

OEM continuously enhances response plans through after-action reviews. After running training exercises, they incorporate new takeaways into preparedness documents, including how to improve communications. 

OEM also stays in contact with emergency management groups at other universities. “We look at their trends and evaluate our planning against theirs, and we all share information on lessons learned,” said Hines.

Community engagement

Upon request, OEM provides emergency preparedness training to departments and members of the Yale community — such as sheltering in place or building evacuation. Training or drills are tailored to the needs of the units but generally include personal preparedness information for campus and home. The team also attends events like graduate student fairs or new student orientation to disseminate information and introduce their services to the community.

“We try to get in front of students, staff, and faculty as much as possible to talk about preparedness, and we partner with our public safety colleagues in this endeavor. In addition, we communicate regularly with our EOT members and alert them of, for instance, an impending weather event or road closure so they can disseminate the message directly to their community. We also have a very robust website with accurate and helpful resources,” said Hines. 

Emergencies can occur anywhere and at any time. Being prepared matters. The Yale Emergency Management’s website has resources to help anyone develop a plan and stay informed.

Sign up for the Yale ALERT system, download the LiveSafe app, and subscribe or visit the Yale status board to get the latest updates during an emergency or for other notifications. You can always reach the Yale Police at 203-432-4400 or through the LiveSafe app. In case of an emergency, dial 911.