Emergency Preparedness at UAlbany

The Office of Emergency Management promotes a safe, secure environment for living, learning and working at the University at Albany. Our team:

  • Oversees UAlbany’s preparedness activities year-round
  • Coordinates the University’s response during and recovery from emergencies
  • Works with offices and individuals across campus to ensure a comprehensive, efficient approach to incident response

When responding to emergencies, UAlbany follows the Incident Command System to ensure seamless integration with other responding agencies. University officials complete monthly training to ensure preparedness and cohesion. Our exercises are developed and evaluated using federal standards.

Please read UAlbany’s Emergency Management Plan for detailed information. (Note: You must sign in using your UAlbany NetID and password to access the document.)

We also encourage you to review these resources:  


 

plan

Get Help in an Emergency

In a life-threatening emergency, immediately contact the University Police Department:

Don’t assume someone else has called. Speak slowly and calmly when the dispatcher answers.
 

get-help
Why do we direct you to call campus police?
Why do we direct you to call campus police?
  • UPD can dispatch Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service or another local emergency medical services squad.
  • UPD officers are trained in CPR administration, Narcan/Naloxone usage and crisis response.  

Students who call 911 in an emergency where alcohol and/or drugs are involved are not subject to disciplinary sanctions, per UAlbany’s Good Samaritan Policy.  

To learn more about the Good Samaritan Policy, review UAlbany’s student code of conduct, Community Rights & Responsibilities. 

If the situation is not life-threatening and involves a student, please use these resources:


 

Prepare for Emergencies

While UAlbany takes every precaution to prevent emergencies, a serious incident could still occur at any time. Individual readiness is just as important as institutional readiness, and we all need to be prepared for emergencies.

The first step is to ensure you will receive UAlbany’s emergency alerts on all your devices. Alerts are automatically sent to all albany.edu email addresses; we encourage you to add your personal cell phone and email address to ensure you see alerts immediately.  

Sign up for UAlbany Alerts.
 

prepare
Simple Ways You Can Prepare for an Emergency
Simple Ways You Can Prepare for an Emergency

Emergency preparedness seems like a daunting task, but the most important steps are often simple:

  • Put together a small First Aid kit, including a few days’ worth of prescription medications.
  • Know where all your important documents are stored, so you can access them quickly if needed.
  • Have warm winter clothes available during cold weather. Loose, thick layers are key.
  • Update the emergency contacts on your cell phone.
  • Back up digital files so you don’t lose access if your devices are damaged.
  • Familiarize yourself with UAlbany’s Emergency Management Plan. Access the plan.

For additional guidance, visit Ready.gov and New York State’s Citizen Preparedness Corps webpage. 

Additional Guidance for Instructors
Additional Guidance for Instructors

Even in a higher education environment, students look to their instructor for guidance and leadership during an emergency. Here’s how you can help your class prepare for an emergency:

  • Have a class roster on hand, even for hybrid classes.
  • Save important phone numbers — such as your department chair, supervisor, lab manager, etc. — in your cell phone contacts.
  • At the start of each semester/term, talk to your students about emergency preparedness. Identify at least two evacuation points from the classroom, point out the locations of nearby AEDs and Stop-the-Bleed kits, and discuss other important information.
  • You may need to rely on your own best judgement. Give clear instructions to students regarding next steps.  

Please also review the Fire & Smoke Procedures for important safety guidance. 

Additional Guidance for On-campus Residents
Additional Guidance for On-campus Residents

Please visit Residential Life’s Emergencies & Safety page for additional information, including phone numbers for each housing area office and guidance on alcohol, drugs, fire safety, bed bugs and more.

When you move into a new on-campus housing assignment, take time to learn and travel all evacuation routes. Emergencies don’t always happen during waking hours, and you want to know where you’re going.

Please also review the Fire & Smoke Procedures for important safety guidance.

 

Emergency Action Plans

action-plans
Evacuation & Shelter-in-place
Evacuation & Shelter-in-place

Evacuation Plans

The best time to evaluate evacuation routes from a building or campus is before an emergency. Take time to review the evacuation plans for the UAlbany buildings you frequent and familiarize yourself with the multiple exit points from campus.  

Evacuation is generally preferred but in certain situations — such as hazardous material (HAZMAT) releases, violent threats or severe weather events — sheltering in place is the safest option. 
 

Shelter-in-place Procedures

When it’s unsafe to evacuate during an emergency, you may need to shelter in place, which means finding immediate shelter and staying there until the threat is over.

At UAlbany, the University Police Department (UPD), in consultation with other senior University officials, makes the decision to initiate shelter-in-place procedures.

Once the decision is made, the campus community will receive a UAlbany Alert notifying them to shelter in place. UPD may lock exterior doors and restrict card access to keep anyone else from entering affected buildings.

If you are told to shelter in place, please stay calm and remain inside until first responders tell you it’s safe to leave your location or you receive an “All Clear” message from the UAlbany Alerts system.

Please also adhere to the following guidance, based on the type of emergency:

  • HAZMAT Incident
    • Move to a room with no windows, a room with sealed windows or a room with windows that can’t open.  
    • Choose a room with minimal or no ventilation. First responders may also turn off the building’s heating and ventilation system.
    • Close all windows and doors. If that’s not possible, move to another location.
  • Violent Person
    • Stay in your current location.
    • Notify others around you and encourage them to stay inside.
    • Lock the doors, cover door windows, close blinds and turn off lights.
    • Stay away from the windows.
    • Check your UAlbany email or the Emergency Alerts webpage for updates.
    • Report any suspicious activity to UPD at 518-442-3131.
  • Weather Event
    • Move to a windowless space and/or a lower floor.
      • Basements are safest but if a basement isn’t available, move to an interior room with no windows (such as a bathroom, hallway or stairwell) on the lowest floor possible.
    • Stay in the center of the room and away from the windows and doors. 

For more guidance, please review the accordions below.

Fire & Smoke
Fire & Smoke
  • If you see fire or smell smoke, pull the nearest fire alarm and evacuate.
    • Fire alarms are monitored 24/7 at a central location. When an alarm is triggered, dispatchers will immediately call the fire department.
    • Once you’ve safely evacuated the building, call the University Police Department (UPD) at 518-442-3131 to report what you know.
  • When you hear a fire alarm, always treat it as the real thing and evacuate.  
    • Follow red overhead Exit signs to exit doors. Close all doors behind you.  
    • If possible, bring your cell phone with you, in case the University needs to contact you or issues an emergency alert. Leave all other belongings behind.
    • Don’t try and rescue people yourself. Instead, tell first responders if anyone remains in the building.
    • Stay at least 500 feet away from the building (there are no predetermined check-in sites) and maintain situational awareness of those around you.
    • Fire Marshals and Assistant Fire Marshals may check rooms as they evacuate, if it’s safe to do so, but they should not linger or reenter the building.
    • Plan ahead: Review evacuation plans for UAlbany buildings you frequent.
  • Never use an elevator during a fire alarm.  
    • If the building’s power is affected, you could end up trapped inside. Electrical disturbances can also send the elevator to a higher floor or the location of the fire.
    • Elevator shafts can also act as a chimney, elevating the temperature inside elevators to dangerous levels. UAlbany’s stairwells and stairwell doors are fire-rated, preventing the chimney effect.
  • If you’re unable to use the stairs, areas of refuge are clearly labeled.
    • Areas of refuge are normally located near or inside external stairwells, which are fire-rated for two hours.
    • Once you arrive at an area of refuge, call UPD at 518-442-3131 to report your location. There are also Campus Emergency Phones in all tower stairwells.
    • Plan ahead: Be sure to familiarize yourself with the area of refuge locations in buildings you frequent. Students with disabilities should work with Disability Access & Inclusion Student Services (DAISS) and employees should work with Human Resources to develop an emergency plan for the campus buildings they frequent. 
Extreme Weather & Natural Disasters
Extreme Weather & Natural Disasters

Snow Emergencies

UAlbany works closely with the State Weather Risk Communication Center (SWRCC) to determine if a major winter storm is going to affect University operations.  

The main concerns from a winter storm are significant snowfall (more than seven inches), ice accumulation and extreme temperatures.  

Information from the SWRCC will be communicated to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, as well as the other members of the Snow Team.  

In the event of hazardous travel conditions in the Albany area, in-person classes will move to remote instruction, and liberal leave procedures will be enacted.

Review the Office of Facilities Management’s Snow Emergency webpage for the University’s snow and ice response guide and snow emergency parking plan. If you notice snow and ice clearing issues on campus, please contact Facilities at 518-442-3480.

Weather-related updates to parking and buses will be posted to the Parking and Mass Transit Alerts webpage.
 

Preparedness Resources 

Upstate New York is prone to a variety of extreme weather and natural disasters. The most common events — severe thunderstorms, heavy lightning, strong wind and winter weather — can affect travel and utilities.  

Read up on these hazards from sources like the National Weather Service (NWS) or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  

Additionally, UAlbany is home to the New York State Mesonet, which provides live weather conditions and active weather alerts across the state.  

We encourage you to review these federal preparedness guides before a natural disaster or extreme weather event strikes:

Threats & Hostile Acts
Threats & Hostile Acts

Active Shooter

If you encounter an active shooter situation, you must quickly determine the most practical way to protect your own life — your familiarity with how to respond may be the difference in life or death.  

The FBI’s Active Shooter Event Quick Reference Guide outlines how and when to run, hide and fight, the information to tell 911 operators, and what to do when police arrive. For more information you can watch a video on the Run Hide Fight strategy.
 

Bomb Threat

Please refer to the federal Bomb Threat Procedure & Checklist for information on how to respond if you receive a phoned, verbal or written bomb threat. 
 

Suspicious Mail

Please refer to UAlbany Mail Services’ guidance on recognizing and responding to suspicious mail. 

Other Types of Emergencies
Other Types of Emergencies

Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Incident

Please visit the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) webpage to access the University’s Chemical Hygiene Plan, as well as emergency response plans and preparedness guides for UAlbany laboratories. 
 

Epidemics & Pandemics

During an epidemic or pandemic, UAlbany officials follow the recommendations of county, state and federal health agencies. Access pandemic preparedness tips.
 

Utility Failure

In the event of any utility failure, please follow these instructions:

  • Residential Buildings: Please contact your Residential Assistant (RA) or Housing Manager (HM), your Housing Area Office or a professional Residential Life staff member.
  • All Other Buildings: Please contact the 24/7 Facilities Management Operations Center at 518-442-3480.

If there are sparking wires or other hazards, please call the University Police Department (UPD) at 518-442-3131.