Impact to students: Emergency lockdown drills will be held at each of the Durham College (DC) and University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) campuses/locations between Tuesday, October 25 and Thursday, October 27. Students and employees should familiarize themselves with emergency lockdown procedures and be aware that the drills will include a temporary increased police presence on campus as well as delayed entry and exit to campus premises.

As part of the college’s and the university’s commitment to maintaining a safe campus, the Office of Campus Safety will conduct a series of emergency lockdown drills to help students and employees better prepare for the event of an actual incident. All buildings listed below will be locked down simultaneously during the drill. The dates, times and locations for the drills are as follows:

Tuesday, October 25 – shared DC-UOIT campus at 9:45 a.m.
All buildings west of Simcoe Street North and south of Conlin Road including South Village, West Village and Simcoe Village residences; Gordon Willey building; Simcoe building; Student Services building; Science building, U5 building, U6 building, Library building (UL), the Pavilion, Business and Information Technology building; Ontario Power Generation Engineering building; Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre; Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre; Women’s Centre; Student Centre; Campus Library; ACE; Clean Energy Research Laboratory; and Campus Corners building.

• Wednesday, October 26 – UOIT downtown campus location at 9:45 a.m.
  61 Charles Street building, the Regent Theatre, Bordessa Hall (55 Bond Street) and Education building.
• Thursday, October 27 – DC Whitby campus at 9:45 a.m. and DC Pickering Learning Site at 1:45 p.m.
  The Whitby campus includes the Centre for Food, greenhouse, Learning Lab – 158 Banting and Learning Lab 1.

Each drill will last approximately 15 to 30 minutes and is designed to build awareness of the steps to take in the event of an actual lockdown. The drills will also help test our emergency response plans and lockdown procedures, and help identify areas for improvement going forward.

During each drill, the participating campus will be closed and no traffic will be permitted to enter or leave the premises. Please keep this in mind and plan transportation, meetings and deliveries accordingly. There will also be an increased police presence on and around campus as part of each drill.

The following is a description of the drill:

• A campus-wide voice mail message will be sent as a reminder of the drill prior to 9:45 a.m. (1:45 p.m. for the PLS).
• A warning message will be broadcast on the campus PA system at 9 a.m. (1 p.m. for the Pickering Learning Site), prior to the start of the drill. This message will be repeated several times.
• Upon hearing the announcement, students and employees will follow the procedures listed below. These procedures can also be found on the lockdown webpage, the Emergency Guideline posters found around campus and flyers being distributed the morning of the drill.
• Once the drill is complete, the all-clear will be given over the PA system and the campus will return to normal activities.

Lockdown

A lockdown announcement will be made over the PA system.

Once a lockdown is announced, follow these instructions:

• Remain in or go to the nearest room and lock or barricade the door.
• Turn off the lights, stay quiet and out of sight and silence all electronic devices.
• Account for everyone in the room and do notopen the door for anyone.
• Wait for further instructions.
• Do notuse cellphones or safety phones unless you have information about the threat.

If the fire alarm sounds during the lockdown:

• Assess your area for signs of fire.
• If no sign of fire, remain in lockdown.
• If signs of fire, evacuate if safe to do so.
• If you choose to evacuate, use the safest exit.

The college and the university realize an exercise of this nature can be a distraction, however it is necessary to maintain the highest level of safety and security for students, employees and visitors. We also understand this experience may be unsettling for some individuals therefore the Campus Health Centre will offer counselling services following the drills.

The Office of Campus Safety will activate the Campus Incident Response Emergency Notification System (CIRENS) to notify students and employees during the lockdown drills. Staff and faculty may email CIRENS@dc-uoit.ca to sign up for enhanced notifications. Employees and students are encouraged to follow the college and university on Twitter to receive CIRENS messages, not only for these drills, but for all emergent situations on campus. In addition, feedback on the drills can be provided via the feedback form found on the Office of Campus Safety webpage.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

This message is sent on behalf of Shannan Saunders, manager, Emergency Management, Office of Campus Safety. Please direct inquiries to shannan.saunders@dc-uoit.ca.

Posted on Oct 3, 2016.