Policy

Building Evacuation Policy

1.00 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide information and guidelines to the Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus community regarding safe and orderly evacuation of buildings in the event of an emergency.  Additionally, this policy outlines the conditions for which building occupants must evacuate a building[1] and delineates the responsibility of the campus population during a drill, exercise, test or emergency[2] for on-campus property and non-campus buildings[3] as outlined by CSU policy and federal regulation[4].

This policy is deemed to be consistent with the University's commitment to the principles, goals, and ideals described in the Cal State Monterey Bay Founding Vision and its core values. 

2.00 Definitions

Access and Functional Needs: Pertains to anyone who might need special considerations to access essential services or evacuate safely in a crisis situation.  Examples include individuals limited in their ability to perform routine activities, including those with physical disabilities, older adults, people with limited English proficiency, individuals with chronic health conditions, children, or those with transportation challenges.

Building Evacuation Drill: A coordinated, supervised activity used to practice skills or capabilities that is done at least once a year or more frequently as needed (e.g., Student Housing & Residential Life (SHRL) evacuation drills).  Building evacuation drills are intended as an all-hazard test of the building/facility evacuation process and are usually begun with the sounding of a fire alarm.  The University Police Department (UPD), fire authorities, and SHRL reserve the right to conduct building evacuation drills building-by-building.  Also referred to as “drill.”

Campus Population: Includes, but may not be limited to, staff, faculty, and administrators employed by the University, the University Corporation, contracted vendors, students, guests, and volunteers.

Emergency: A sudden and usually unforeseen event that calls for immediate measures to minimize its adverse consequences, including conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property, which require the response of community resources.

Emergency Evacuation Plan Map: Maps that are posted near exits of each building/facility and may also be viewed online, showing exit routes and primary assembly areas.

Emergency Action Plan: An Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is a written document that helps employees and employers prepare for workplace emergencies. An EAP aims to minimize injury and loss of life by: training employees, assigning responsibilities, and procuring and maintaining necessary equipment.

Essential Personnel: Campus administrators, faculty, and staff who are required to report to a designated work location to ensure the operation of University functions during an emergency or when the University is experiencing a suspension in function.  Essential personnel vary depending on the type of emergency or suspended function. 

Evacuation: The orderly withdrawal of building occupants to a designated primary assembly area in response to an actual or potential emergency.

Evacuation Drills:  For the purpose of this policy, evacuation drills are coordinated, supervised and operated in coordination with a hazard-specific training event conducted campus-wide (e.g. The Great California Shakeout).  Evacuation drills may not be accompanied by a fire alarm but will be announced by the AVP/Chief of Police, or designee, or University Communications.  In some cases an evacuation notification may also be utilized (See Section 5.00 Evacuation Notification) immediately prior to an evacuation drill.  

Evacuation Notification: A message, if warranted, issued to the occupants of a campus building affected by an emergency incident that instructs occupants to evacuate the building in accordance with the building’s emergency evacuation plan map as an included component of an emergency notification. The term evacuation notification also refers to the notifications issued in conjunction with evacuation drills.

False Alarm: A fire alarm or other emergency signal intentionally or unintentionally activated when no emergency exists.

Non-campus Building: Any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by Cal State Monterey Bay; or any building or property owned or controlled by Cal State Monterey Bay that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, CSUMB’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same, reasonably contiguous geographic area of the University.  For the purposes of this policy, non-campus buildings are only subject to training, drills, and exercises as outlined.  Actual emergencies requiring evacuation will be responded to and handled by the appropriate local agencies. 

On-campus Property:  Any building or property owned or controlled by CSUMB within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the University in direct support of, or in a manner related to, the University’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and any building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to the campus that is owned by CSUMB but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes.  Also referred to as “on-campus.”  On-campus property includes residential facilities. 

Primary Assembly Area:  A designated open-space area at least 50 feet away and easily accessible from the building and that is capable of holding all building occupants safely.  These areas will not include locations where emergency personnel are likely to respond or open areas contained within structures (e.g., courtyard).  Each building’s primary assembly area is visibly marked on its Emergency Evacuation Plan Map.  Maps are posted near exits of each building/facility and may also be viewed online. 

Test: Regularly scheduled drills, exercises, and appropriate follow-through activities, designed for assessment and evaluation of emergency plans and capabilities.

3.00 Building Management Coordination

Managers/directors/supervisors/deans/department chairs/PIs (hereinafter “Supervisors”) are all responsible for implementing evacuations in their work areas and for answering employee questions about the emergency evacuation and emergency preparedness training. Supervisors work with Human Resources to identify and assign the required training needed for their employees. In an emergency, all Supervisors are responsible for making a concerted effort to account for all employees under their supervision in collaboration with Human Resources and Emergency Management.

4.00 Responsibilities

UPD and the AVP/Chief of Police are designated responsible for campus emergency management activities and programs by the Emergency Executive, the. Vice President of Administration and Finance, or designee. 

According to the National Fire Protection Association Standard (NFPA) Fire Prevention Code Section 3.22, drills include suitable procedures so that all persons who are subject to them participate. Drill and evacuation plans cover all persons in the building, therefore, occupants of University buildings must exit when alarms sound or when emergency authorities initiate an evacuation. Any person failing to comply with fire drill procedures may be escorted out of the building by UPD. Incidents of employee[5] non-compliance to evacuate a building shall be reported to the employee's immediate supervisor for further review and corrective action.  Any incidents of student non-compliance to evacuate may be forwarded to the Director of Student Conduct for consideration of corrective or disciplinary action. No person may leave the primary assembly area or campus until they have been counted and released as directed by UPD or other first response personnel.

Every person needs to take responsibility for preparing for emergencies, including determination of individual access and functional needs during evacuation.

4.10 Campus Population

Members of the campus population shall:

  1. Know the evacuation routes and assembly points for buildings they occupy;
  2. Assist others in need during evacuations without placing themselves in danger;
  3. Evacuate the building in an orderly manner whenever the fire alarm system is activated and/or an evacuation is ordered by an appropriate campus authority, or during planned evacuation drills, whether announced or not;
  4. Adhere to all campus health, safety, and security policies;
  5. Follow evacuation and emergency action plans in the event of an emergency situation, or drill; and,
  6. Comply with the directions of identified University officials and uniformed emergency response personnel.

4.20 Faculty, Researchers, and Staff

In addition to the responsibilities identified in section 4.10 of this policy, faculty, researchers, and staff who work directly with students are encouraged to:

  1. Inform students of safety and evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency situation and implementing those procedures during an event or drill; and
  2. Report in-class incidents and potential hazards to appropriate University departments (i.e. EM, Facilities Management, etc.) for follow-up action.

4.30 Individuals with Access and Functional Needs

In addition to the responsibilities identified in section 4.10 of this policy, individuals with access and functional needs are encouraged to:

  1. Consider personal needs and develop an individualized emergency plan in addition to making alternative emergency evacuation plans since; while emergency personnel are usually available to assist with evacuation, this may not always be the case.
  2. Encourage family members and other caretakers who are not on campus to also sign up for OTTERalerts to facilitate communications should an emergency occur.

5.00 Evacuation Notification

    When evacuation of a building or facility is determined to be appropriate, an Evacuation Notification will be issued for the building(s).  Consistent with section 4.10 of this policy, all students and employees shall immediately evacuate upon notification.

    Evacuation notifications shall be coordinated by the AVP/Chief of Police, the Clery Compliance Officer, and management designee(s) as outlined in the CSU Clery Policy.                                        

    Building evacuations may be announced using a variety of platforms, including but not limited to:

    1. University websites;
    2. Outdoor Public Address System;
    3. OTTERalert (e.g. text message (SMS), email and Desktop Notification);
    4. Mass e-mail;
    5. Mass voicemail;
    6. Emergency Update Hotline;
    7. Monterey County Emergency Alert System;
    8. Local media; and,
    9. Fire alarm.

     In-person communication[6] or other means may be used to communicate in an emergency.

    5.10 Emergency Notifications

    For the full policy on emergency notification, refer to Appendix B of the CSU Emergency Notification section of the CSU Clery policy.

    6.00 Critical Operations 

    Certain campus activities may pose an additional hazard if left unattended or in operation during evacuation. Emergency Management will work with departments involved in such activities to develop specific emergency response procedures.  This may require additional training for involved employees, including recognition of risk and when to abandon the operation and evacuate.

    7.00 Training

    The University Emergency Manager is responsible for emergency preparedness and evacuation training as well as the retention of training records.

    All employees are required to complete the CSU-Emergency Procedures training in CSU Learn.

    Additional evacuation training for the campus population may be necessary and/or requested by the appropriate administrator.

    8.00 Test Protocol

    Emergency Management is responsible for coordinating and conducting the University’s emergency response and evacuation drills.

    Drills are planned in advance and every effort will be made to coordinate the drill around the scheduling of sensitive academic activities (i.e., exams, guest lectures, etc.) and critical operations.

    Drills will be conducted in accordance with the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program; the SHRL Emergency Housing Plan; and the University’s Emergency Management Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan. 

    After Action Reports/Improvement Plans (AARs/IPs) provide concrete steps that the University can improve their response capabilities and address areas for improvements observed during drill.  Drills are also an opportunity to identify lessons learned and best practices that can help build the University’s overall preparedness.  As such, each drill shall be documented, including but not limited to:

    1. A description of the drill;
    2. The date(s) of the drill;
    3. The drill’s time(s);
    4. Whether the drill was announced or unannounced;
    5. Identification of gaps and lessons learned from the drill; and,
    6. Development of a continuous improvement plan based on gap analysis and lessons learned from the drill.

    The Emergency Manager, in concert with the Clery Compliance Officer (CCO) and the AVP/Chief of Police, or designee, shall publish a notice to all current students and employees of its annual drill requirement completion.  The notice shall contain a summary of the drill’s components and applicable evacuation procedures.  The notice shall be publicized by University Communications upon the completion of the AAR/IP.

    EM and the CCO shall work to retain records regarding the University’s completion of Higher Education Opportunity Act’s (HEOA) annual drill requirement in accordance with the CSU Records Retention and Disposition Schedule or federal mandate (seven years), whichever is greater.

    9.00 Auxiliary Location Evacuation Plans

    Students, faculty and staff occupying an on-campus facility, or any off-campus facility during the time of an evacuation drill or emergency are to comply with this policy.

    Students occupying any on-campus residential facility are subject to abide by SHRL evacuation procedures as outlined in the Emergency Housing Plan pursuant to Section 66210 of the California Education Code.  

    10.00 Making Appropriate Plans Before an Emergency Occurs

    Students, staff, and faculty are strongly advised to sign up for “OTTERalert” to receive timely notices via phone call, text, and/or email in the event of an emergency. For more information and to sign up for OTTERalerts visit this page. Family members and other caretakers who are not on campus may also sign up for OTTERalerts to facilitate communications should an emergency occur. 

    Every individual should become familiar with the area by locating exits, stairwells, elevators, fire alarms, and possible areas of rescue. If an individual notices that the Emergency Evacuation Map for a building they use on campus is missing or that other guidelines outlined in this policy need improvement, then they should contact EM to help remedy the situation.  All students, staff, and faculty must take responsibility for their safety by engaging in all the above preparations. Additional information is located on the UPD Emergency Management webpage.

    11.00 Continuous Renewal

    This policy shall be reviewed ten years from its effective date to determine its utility and appropriateness.  This policy may be reviewed before that time as necessary.

    s/ President Vanya Quiñones

    Effective Date: May 30, 2025

    Certification of Process

    Reviewed by: Policy Facilitation Team, Academic Leadership Team, Enrollment Management & Student Affairs, Administration and Finance, University Development, and President’s Cabinet.   

    Download a signed .pdf version of this policy

    [1] Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1910.38 and 19 C.C.R. §3.10 upon notification of a fire, conduct of any fire drill, upon activation of the fire alarm, or upon orders of the fire authority having jurisdiction, buildings or structures shall be immediately evacuated or occupants shall be relocated in accordance with established plans as delineated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.  Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 8665, any person who violates any provisions of [Chapter 7 California Emergency Services Act] or who refuses or willfully neglects to obey any lawful order or regulation promulgated or issued as provided in [Chapter 7], shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment for not to exceed six months or by both such fine and imprisonment. 

    [2] 19 C.C.R. § 3220 (e)(2); 29 C.F.R. § 1910.38(e)

    [3] For the purposes of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance, this policy includes CSUMB’s on-campus and noncampus buildings.  For Clery Act (20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)) compliance purposes, documentation regarding emergency response and evacuation tests shall only be for on-campus property. 

    [4] California State University Executive Order 1056 and 34 C.F.R. § 668.46(g)

    [5] Faculty, staff, volunteers, part-time and full-time

    [6] All references to in-person communication include para-professional and professional faculty and staff (both State-side and Corporation) at the scene of the emergency as directed by emergency response personnel.