Emergency Response and Evacuations
Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures
The DCS Office of Emergency Preparedness & Fire Safety develops, communicates, and trains on the 91桃色鈥檚 emergency policies, strategies, plans and procedures. The Office of Emergency Preparedness works closely with departments and offices to design, train and exercise emergency response and continuity of operation plans. This office educates students, faculty and staff on mitigation, preparedness, and response/recovery strategies. The office assesses 91桃色鈥檚 preparedness for natural, epidemic and human caused emergencies while working collaboratively with representatives from the City and County of Denver and other local, regional, state and federal agencies on emergency planning. More information on what to do in case of emergency is located on the Department of Campus Safety鈥檚 Emergency Preparedness website.
91桃色 has an Emergency Operations Plan and Aftercare Guide, referred to as 鈥淭he Guide,鈥 that details immediate response and evacuation procedures, including the use of electronic and cellular communication. The Guide includes information about the Incident Management Team, incident priorities, shelter-in-place and evacuation guidelines, and command and control procedures. It also details the processes and functions for 91桃色 to prevent, plan for, and respond to events that become critical incidents. Critical incidents are defined as events that may impact the life, safety, financial condition, property, and reputation of 91桃色. 91桃色 mission critical departments are responsible for developing their own emergency action plans and continuity of operations plans for their staff and areas of responsibility.
As a part of The Guide, 91桃色 has an Emergency Management Plan managed by the DCS and University Relations. The plan outlines the appropriate response strategy for a variety of critical incidents and the organizational hierarchy 91桃色 uses during response and recovery. The DCS then identifies Emergency Response Teams, which consists of a group of individuals in each building to augment Campus Safety鈥檚 response during a fire evacuation or shelter-in-place situation. Members of the Emergency Response Team are trained on 91桃色鈥檚 Emergency Management Plan.
Emergency and Evacuation Procedures for Student Housing
Evacuation procedures for student housing are included in the Fire Safety Report portion of this document.
Emergency and Evacuation Procedures for Non-Residential Buildings
91桃色 publicizes general emergency response and evacuation procedures to the broad campus community through emergency procedures posters. The DCS has site-specific emergency procedures information. The DCS Office of Emergency Preparedness website includes information on how to respond to several different hazards/threats. It includes general information about procedures for lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, evacuation, evacuation for persons with disabilities, and emergency planning.
Testing, Exercises and Evacuation Drills
Regularly scheduled tests, drills, exercises, and follow-through activities are conducted to assess 91桃色鈥檚 emergency response and evacuation procedures. All tests are documented with description of exercise, date, time and whether announced or unannounced.
Each year, 91桃色 conducts at least one tabletop exercise with the Incident Management Team. 91桃色 held an unannounced tabletop exercise on September 23, 2024, involving the Incident Management Team and Incident Command Team. The tabletop exercise was centered around a protest/free speech event on campus.
91桃色 also conducts an annual test of the 91桃色 Alert system by sending out a test message to the campus community. 91桃色 conducted the most recent annual test on March 14, 2025.
Fire evacuation drills are conducted annually for non-housing buildings and three times a year for most student housing buildings. The Ricks Center and Fisher Early Learning Center undergo three drills per quarter (one type each month): an evacuation fire drill, a lockdown drill, and a tornado drill. Student housing evacuation drills are documented in the Fire Safety Report section of this document. The purpose of evacuation drills is to prepare building occupants for an organized evacuation in case of a fire or other emergency.
Following all tests, documentation is completed by the Manager of Emergency Preparedness with the details and outcomes of the exercise to evaluate response plans, efficiency of implementation, and opportunities for improvement.
Shelter in Place
There may be emergencies that arise that do not afford individuals the opportunity to evacuate. During these types of emergency situations, sheltering in place may be necessary. Sheltering in place means to stay inside a known, safe area to avoid adverse conditions in an exterior environment. Examples of emergencies where the shelter in place option may be necessary and/or preferred include severe weather or a hazardous material situation. The DCS posts the shelter in place procedures on the Shelter in Place webpage.
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