CERT Procedures

Notification/Communication With CERT and Emergency Operation Center

In the event of an emergency situation, members of the CERT will be notified by the VPSACL. In his/her absence, the Vice President for Finance and Administration will convene the group to assess the situation. The Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life will notify the CERT about the gathering point for the group (Emergency Operations Center (EOC)).

The EOC will have access to telephones, printer, fax machine, flip chart and/or a white board, markers, pens, pencils, television with cable hookup, radio or walkie talkies, and extra batteries. CERT members should bring available lap top computers with them to the EOC. Supplies (as listed above) will be transported to the designated location by the appropriate resource person if needed. In the event that security is required for the command center, Public Safety will provide this service.

On-Site Command Post

In an emergency, Ithaca College personnel, and local agency representatives (i.e. fire department), will typically be at the site of the emergency to respond accordingly. In these situations, an "on-site Command Post" will be established by Public Safety. Normally, the Deputy Chief of Public Safety (or designee) will serve as the Coordinator of this Command Post. On-site personnel should provide the Coordinator with regular updates and coordinate the College's on-site response through this individual. The CERT will be in regular contact with the on-site Coordinator to gather relevant and important information and pass on decisions and information to on-site personnel.

Information Gathering

Below are five general categories of emergency incidents and some sources of information for each. The department that would take the lead in the investigation/information gathering is also shown. The Director of the given area that has the lead for the incident would be added to the CERT. In addition, that Director will designate a representative to serve as the on-site manager (should the Director choose to manage the situation on-site, he/she will assign someone else to be the area's representative on the CERT).

Criminal Incidents - Public Safety (e.g. suicides, assaults, shootings, fires, etc.)

  • Sources of information would be the results of evidence collection, interviews, background checks, information obtained from other investigative techniques, and recommendations from consultants and on-campus professionals.
  • Investigations could be coordinated with the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and various Federal, State and local police agencies.

Environmental Incidents - Environmental Health and Safety (e.g. HazMat spills, indoor air quality problem, fires, petroleum spills, etc.)

  • Sources of information would be the results of evidence collection, interviews, blueprint review, information obtained from other investigative techniques, and recommendations from consultants and on-campus professionals. Several formal response plans are already in place that direct an organized response to many incidents.
  • Investigations could be coordinated with the Ithaca Fire Department HazMat team, Cornell University (HazMat team), NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and various Federal, State and local agencies.

Health Related Incidents - Health/Counseling Centers (e.g. communicable diseases, etc.)

  • Sources of information would be the results of medical testing, interviews, review of medical records, information obtained from other investigative techniques, and recommendations from consultants and on-campus professionals.
  • Coordinate investigation with various Federal, State and local health agencies.

Infrastructure Incidents - Facilities (e.g. sub-station fire, unplanned electrical shutdown, roof collapse, water tank leak, etc.)

  • Sources of information would be the results of testing, interviews, review of records and blueprints, information obtained from other investigative techniques, and recommendations from consultants and on-campus professionals.
  • Coordinate investigation with various NYS utility companies, and various Federal, State and local agencies.

Miscellaneous Incidents - Multi-departmental Response; the lead department to be determined depending upon the circumstances of the incident (e.g. weather related - snow, ice, tornado, etc.)

  • Sources of information would be the results of weather forecasts, interviews, review of records, information obtained from other investigative techniques, recommendations from consultants and on-campus professionals.