Emergency Procedures
Emergency Response Plan
ULM's Incident Manual includes information about incident teams; University operating
status parameters; incident priorities and performance expectations; shelter-in-place
and evacuation guidelines; and local contingency and continuity planning requirements.
University departments are responsible for developing contingency plans and continuity
of operations plans for their staff and areas of responsibility. ULM conducts numerous
emergency response exercises each year, such as tabletop exercises, field exercises,
and tests of the emergency notification system on campus. These tests are designed
to assess and evaluate the emergency plans and capabilities of the institution.
ULM police officers and supervisors are trained in incident command and responding
to critical incidents on campus. When a serious incident occurs which causes an immediate
threat to the campus, the first responders to the scene are ULM Police, Monroe Police,
Monroe Fire and Monroe HAZMAT. Collectively, these first responders work together
to manage the incident. Depending on the nature of the incident, other ULM departments
and other local, state or federal agencies could also be involved in responding to
the incident.
Emergency Evacuation Procedures
Emergency Evacuation Procedures are coordinated by ULM's Environmental Health and
Safety office, in coordination with ULM's Residential Life office each semester for
all residential facilities on campus. Thus, the emergency response and evacuation
procedures are tested at least twice each year and, for some of the buildings, multiple
times a year.
Students learn the locations of the emergency exits in the buildings and are provided
guidance about the direction they should travel when exiting each facility for a short-term
building evacuation. ULM's Environmental Health and Safety does not tell residents
in advance about the designated locations for long-term evacuations because those
decisions are affected by time of day, location of the building being evacuated, the
availability of the various designated emergency gathering locations on campus, and
other factors such as the location and nature of the threat. In both cases, ULM and ULM's Residential Life staff on the scene will communicate information to students regarding the developing
situation or any evacuation status changes.
The purpose of evacuation drills is to prepare building occupants for an organized
evacuation in case of a fire or other emergency. At ULM, evacuation drills are used
as a way to educate and train occupants on fire safety issues specific to their building.
During the drill, occupants "practice" drill procedures and familiarize themselves
with the location of exits and the sound of the fire alarm. Palm cards with educational
information are distributed to residents re-entering a facility immediately after
an evacuation drill. In addition to educating the occupants of each building about
the evacuation procedures during the drills, the process also provides ULM an opportunity
to test the operation of fire alarm system components.
Evacuation drills are monitored by ULM Police, ULM's Environmental Health and Safety Office, and ULM's Residential Life to evaluate egress (exit) and behavioral patterns. Reports are prepared by participating
departments which identify deficient equipment so repairs can be made immediately.
Recommendations for improvements are also submitted to the appropriate departments/offices
for consideration.
Students who live in ULM's Residence Halls receive information about evacuation and
shelter-in-place procedures during their First Floor meetings and during other educational
sessions they can participate in throughout the year. Residential Life staff are trained in these procedures as well and act as an on-going resource for
the students living in residential facilities.
General information about ULM's Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures are published annually online as part of ULM's Annual Security and Fire Reports.
