What do I do in a campus emergency?
Emergencies: What do I do?
The entire University community has a vital role to play in the unlikely event of an emergency: If you are living, learning or working at UB you are part of a metropolitan area, and it is important to take responsibility for your own safety.
Around campus, UB has many programs and services to ensure a safe environment. The University Police and many other UB offices helped to develop, and are trained in the University’s emergency plan (see emergency.buffalo.edu 
).
- Be Alert: Report Suspicions. Crime prevention starts with being aware of your environment and avoiding situations that put you at risk. Here are some other tips to keep you safe:
- Personal Safety Tips
- Never be afraid to contact UB’s University Police if you see something that doesn’t look right.
- On campus, call University Police at 645-2222 or 829-2222; or pick up any emergency blue light phone
- Off campus call 911
- Report crimes anonymously through Silent Witness
- Ask for help from:
- University Police
- UB staff or faculty
- Residence hall or apartment staff
- Any UB office
- Information desks in Student Union (North Campus) and Harriman (South Campus)
- Stay Informed. Use UB's emergency communication network
- GET Emergency Text Messaging!!! Every UB community member should immediately register for UB’s Emergency Text Messaging at emergency.buffalo.edu. It could be the difference between life and death in a campus emergency. UB’s emergency personnel use the system to immediately text-message warnings or advisories to registered users’ cell phones. Registering is FREE and EASY at emergency.buffalo.edu .
- Emergency Communication Vehicles. In an emergency at any UB campus, check these communications vehicles. UB regularly uses these media to alert faculty, students, staff and visitors to changing campus conditions or operation issues.
- GET Emergency Text Messaging!!! Every UB community member should immediately register for UB’s Emergency Text Messaging at emergency.buffalo.edu. It could be the difference between life and death in a campus emergency. UB’s emergency personnel use the system to immediately text-message warnings or advisories to registered users’ cell phones. Registering is FREE and EASY at emergency.buffalo.edu
- Act. Get to a safe place.
- In the event of an emergency, your actions will depend on the nature of the event, but generally, follow the directions of the University Police or other UB staff.
- Understand UB’s Emergency Procedures.
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Visit emergency.buffalo.edu for a full description.
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Visit emergency.buffalo.edu
- Stay in Touch.
Once you are safe and an emergency is controlled:
- Reassure your family and friends back home. Parents and guardians will be concerned. Call and tell them what’s going on. Set up alternative methods of communication to notify them in case of emergency.
- Stay informed by monitoring UB, local and national media: radio, TV, internet.
- Be aware of the rumor mill. During crisis or emergency, unsubstantiated rumors often fuel fear. Don't react to every rumor. Get good information from reliable sources.
Safety & Emergency Procedures
UB’s "All Hazards Emergency Response" plan coordinates the University’s reaction to such incidents as weather emergencies, fire, utility failure, infectious disease, hazardous material incident, demonstrations, active shooter/hostage incidents, structural collapse, major crimes, terrorist attack, bomb threat (or actual detonation) and more. Remember:
- Remain calm
- Arguing with University officials increases the risk of personal harm to you and others. Follow direction of police, fire, or residence hall personnel.
- Failure to comply with reasonable requests of university authorities is a sanctionable offense.
For a complete description, visit emergency.buffalo.edu
Whom to contact
What do I do if...
Evacuation
- Immediately proceed to the nearest exit door and leave the building.
- Assemble in area designated by residence hall or University Police staff.
- If no staff member is in the immediate area, go the nearest open grass area or parking lot.
- Evacuation/fire drills will be conducted throughout the academic year.
Medical Emergencies/Injuries
- On campus, immediately contact University Police (645-2222). If off-campus, call 911.
- Tell University Police:
- The nature of the problem
- If you feel the situation is critical
- Your name and exact location
- If able:
- Contact your housing staff and Health Services
- Arrange for someone to meet the police when they arrive
Fire Emergency
If you detect a fire or the fire alarm sounds while you are in your residence hall or class room:
- Immediately leave your room, close the door behind you and proceed to an exit.
- Pull the fire alarm on your way out of the building.
- Do not use the elevator. Use the stairways.
- Follow exit signage - clearly marked with lighted signs.
- Call 645-2222 and report the fire and your location.
- ONCE OUTSIDE
- Go to your assigned assembly area.
- Do not re-enter the building until directed to do so by the University Police
- If IT IS UNSAFE TO EVACUATE:
- Close your room door and call University Police at 645-2222.
- FEEL THE TOP OF THE DOOR and DOOR HANDLE FOR HEAT.
- IF THE DOOR OR HANDLE IS HOT: DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR - you are safer in your room than in the corridor.
- IF THE DOOR OR HANDLE IS COOL: Check the corridor for smoke - open the door slightly, if there is smoke in the corridor close the door and remain in your room.
- Protect yourself by:
- Covering the opening at the bottom of the door with pillows or blankets to prevent smoke from getting in your room.
- Open a window just enough to allow some fresh air into your room.
- Stay in your room until a firefighter or police officer comes to you.
Mental Health Emergencies.
When there is an immediate concern of harm to a person or those around him (e.g. a student has inflicted injury to himself or others, has ingested a harmful substance, is not fully conscious), call University Police immediately (645-2222). If you have non-urgent concerns, call Counseling Services at 645-2720 or your housing staff.
Weather Emergency
- Seek shelter inside a building until notified by University officials that it is safe to leave.
- If flooding occurs, seek higher ground and avoid walking through standing or moving water.
- Stay away from electrical lines and devices.
Hostile Intruder
- Remain calm, do not engage the intruder.
- If it is possible to escape the area safely, do so quietly.
- If attempting to escape, do not carry phones or other objects in your hands. As you move through open areas keep your HANDS ELEVATED with OPEN PALMS visible, especially if encountering responding law enforcement officers. Follow all the instructions officers may give you.
- If you CANNOT SAFELY EXIT the building, seek shelter in a room where the doors can be locked or barricaded securely.
- Close and lock windows, lower blinds, remain out of sight, turn off lights.
- Once secured inside, take cover behind concrete walls, thick desks, filing cabinets, away from windows and doors.
- Remain quiet, turn off cell phone ringers.
- ONLY ONE PERSON from the room should call police at 645-2222 and tell them where you are, where the intruder is and the condition of the others with you. Follow their instructions. If you cannot speak, leave the line open so the dispatcher can hear what is happening.
- If it can be accomplished safely, assist injured persons.
- Do not respond to any unfamiliar voice commands until you can be sure that they are coming from a police officer.
- Do not open the door until you can be positive that it is a police officer or a recognized campus official coming to help you.
Bomb Threats
If someone calls saying that there is a bomb:
- Try to get as much information from the caller as you can (e.g. location of bomb, time of detonation)
- Immediately call University Police (645-2222)
- If able, call Campus Living staff.
- Provide your name and the exact information you received and follow direction of University Police.
- DO NOT:
- Do not investigate but be alert to unfamiliar objects along exit routes.
- Do not touch anything
- DO NOT pull the fire alarm!
Elevator Emergencies
- During non-business hours:
- Call University Police at 645-2222
- In campus housing, call your RA
- During Business Hours (Mon. - Fri., 8 am – 5 pm)
- Call University Police
- In campus housing, call Residential Facilities at 645-5440 (North Campus) or 829-3334 (South Campus).
- Never attempt to rescue someone caught in malfunctioning elevator.