Emergency Situations Resources

The UW Superior Emergency Response Plan, supported by the annexes, provides general guidance for responding to small- and large-scale emergencies at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. 

Key Components of the Plan include:

• Definitions of Emergency Levels and Plan Activation
• Overview of Emergency Response Actions
• How the campus meets Homeland Security requirements
• Overview of Emergency Response Plan Activation
• Emergency Response Team
• Expectations of All Employees

The plan serves as a policy statement about emergency response and as a guidance document for preplanning for emergencies and educating the campus community about response procedures, but it is too detailed to be used as the emergency unfolds. During an emergency, short, concise guidelines, resource materials, a standardized response organization and good communication are the best response “tools” that can be used. These “tools” are found in the annexes of the Plan, some of which contain sensitive material and are not made available as public documents.

Be familiar with the Emergency Response Procedures before an emergency occurs. The Procedures are readily available as a set by clicking on the icon to the right, or as individual procedures listed below.

New: The emergency procedures are now available in abbreviated form as a flip chart titled “Emergency Procedures Quick Reference Guide”. Request a flip chart by contacting the Parking Office, Campus Safety Office or Environmental Health and Safety. The more informed you are, the better prepared you will be to protect yourself, students, and co-workers.

The Classroom Safety Guide is an an abbreviated summary of the most common Emergency Procedures.  The Guide contains only essential details and is not a substitute for reviewing the complete Emergency Procedures available on the web or in the directory. 

If you have questions about a unique situation not covered by our Plans, or if you need additional information or planning assistance, please call:

Campus Safety, (715) 394-8114

Environmental Health and Safety, (715)-394-8073

View the Emergency Procedures (Annex A)

• Reporting Emergencies – Who to Call and When
• Emergency Evacuation Plans – Including Safe Zones, Assembly Points, AEDs and First Aid Supplies
• All Hazard Weather Alert Radios

The individual sections of the Emergency Procedures are:

• Life, Safety & Natural Hazards – Examples include building evacuations, shelter-in place, fire alarms, severe weather, emergency situations, explosions, elevator malfunctions and flooding
• Violence & Threats – Examples include acts of violence, active shooter, sexual assaults, bomb threats, terrorist threats, suspicious or threatening mail, internal spills, technology or telephone emergencies and utility failures.

View the entire Mass Communication Plan and Crisis Communication Plan (Annex B).

Internal and External Mass Communication Methods

This section briefly describes the various methods that UW Superior may use to notify the campus community about a potential emergency situation or provide updated information about the status of an incident, including:

• Email
• Campus phone system
• Text messaging
• Computer lab screens
• Digital monitors
• Social media
• Web pages
• Weather/emergency hotline
• Building fire alarm network
• CODE RED/ONSOLVE Alert System
• Media broadcasts
• All Hazard Weather Alert Radios

Crisis Communication Plan

Effective communication during a crisis may assist in ensuring the safety of students, employees and neighbors. It also can convey accurate information beyond the community to the concerned parents and family members of students – people who also are part of our campus community.

The Crisis Communication Plan discusses how the university will communicate important information to the campus community, the public and the media.  

This site provides information about the UW-Superior’s planning and preparations for a pandemic event, and links to other resources.

Learn about UW-Superior’s Emergency Plan for Pandemic Flu (Annex C)

The world’s public health agencies have advised all states, cities, workplaces, and individuals to begin preparing for a pandemic influenza (flu), which means a global outbreak of a disease. You’ve heard or read a lot about seasonal flu and avian flu in the news media, but few people understand that pandemic flu, seasonal flu and avian flu all have different meanings. The public health agencies have defined the flu terms as:

Seasonal (or common) flu is a respiratory illness that can be transmitted person to person. Most people have some immunity, and a vaccine is available.

Avian (or bird) flu is caused by influenza viruses that occur naturally among wild birds. The H5N1 variant is deadly to domestic fowl and can be transmitted from birds to humans. There is no human immunity and no vaccine is available.

Pandemic flu is virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease can spread easily from person to person. Currently, there is no pandemic flu.

Though it’s not known when or what novel strain of virus will strike, once a pandemic influenza begins, it could spread rapidly. 

Just as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, a pandemic influenza outbreak could last for weeks or months, causing numerous problems and disruption for UW-Superior and our surrounding communities. Classes might be suspended. Numerous employees might be unable or unwilling to come to work. Major disruptions could occur not only in university services, but also among vendors, health service providers and local government. Presently, there isn’t a pandemic flu in progress in the United States or elsewhere in the world. The federal Department of Health and Human Services set an end date of May 11, 2023 for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

UW-Superior’s Pandemic Emergency Plan is one step in a series of steps necessary to prepare the university to respond to potentially widespread and lengthy outbreak of communicable disease, should one occur. For more information about UW-Superior’s Pandemic Flu Planning, please contact the Environmental Health and Safety Office, ext. 8073.

Learn More About the Flu

• UWS Poster: Handwashing and Good Health Habits
• Gallagher Swine Flu Update and Advisory for Higher Education, April 27, 2009
• Flu.gov
• American College Health Association
• Wisconsin Pandemic Flu Resource
• Red Cross Pandemic Flu

Definition

Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning, called Business Continuity Planning in the private sector, is a planning effort that will ensure that essential campus functions continue after a significant event impacts campus functions, business or infrastructure.

Purpose

A COOP Plan is not an emergency response plan; the purpose of a COOP Plan is to facilitate the recovery and resumption of critical or essential functions through the development of plans, comprehensive procedures, and provisions for alternate sites, personnel, resources, interoperable communications and vital records/databases.

The UW Superior Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is an “all hazards plan” that outlines how the campus will respond during an emergency to ensure the safety of the campus community, preserve our infrastructure, and communicate effectively during the response.

However, the ERP does not make provisions for the resumption of the critical functions of the campus.

The UW Superior COOP Plan will also utilize an “all-hazard” approach covering a broad range of possible emergencies or interruptions, such as those resulting from a man-made or natural disaster, pandemics, utility or infrastructure failure, terrorism, or loss of workforce.

Examples that have taken place on our campus include the loss of use of two department offices for several months following significant building flooding, or department relocations due to building renovations.

COOP planning is presently in the beginning phase at UW Superior.

Campus departments will develop individual COOP plans on a smaller scale to assist them in restoring their functions should a business interruption occur.

Watch this page for updates on the Campus Continuity of Operations planning efforts.

Department Continuity of Operations Planning

Department Continuity of Operations Planning

The Department COOP Plan template and instructions are available below. Please contact Holly Johnson for questions or assistance.

Department COOP Plan Template Instructions, v B 

Department COOP Plan Template, v B