Emergency Response and Evacuation

On this page:

Emergency Response

In the event of an emergency on any campus, UH Hilo personnel (mainly safety and/or security personnel) will respond and generally are first on scene. The Incident Command System (ICS) is utilized when responding to an emergency. The ICS provides standard procedures for the confirmation of and response to an emergency.

Depending on the nature of the emergency, members of the Crisis Management Team will be notified and will report to the Emergency Operations Center. The UH Hilo Administration Intake Team will keep the UH Hilo Crisis Management Team apprised of the situation. UH Hilo will request assistance from outside law enforcement agencies or other response organizations and will coordinate response efforts.

Immediate Notification

Upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus, UH Hilo will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system for all or a segment of the campus, unless issuing a notification will, in the judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

Responsible authorities, who can confirm a significant emergency or dangerous situation and draft and issue an immediate notification, include:

• Chancellor
• Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs
• Director of Campus Security
• Environmental Health & Safety Officer
• Campus Designees
• Director of Auxiliary Services

Depending on the nature of the emergency, one or more notification systems may be utilized. These systems include, but are not limited to:

• Text messages
• UH email system
• Local media
• Social Media
• Building fire alarms
• Emergency Announcement Systems

UH maintains an opt-in emergency notification system – UH Alert – that may be used for immediate notifications via email and text messages. Pre-scripted messages have been developed and will be used – with appropriate modifications – during emergency situations.

All immediate notifications will have at least one follow-up message (i.e., the “All Clear” message). Generally, the follow-up messages will be issued utilizing the same notification systems as the initial notification. However, word-of-mouth, the UH Hilo website or other means may be utilized when appropriate.

The public information officer or designee may communicate with local media such as newspapers, television stations and radio stations to disseminate emergency information to the surrounding community. The public information officer will provide a statement for posting additional information on the UH Hilo website, which is another possible source for the larger community to obtain such information.

Campus Evacuation Procedures

The UH Hilo chancellor or designee will authorize campus evacuation orders. Once an evacuation order has been given, students and employees should follow the instructions and timelines for leaving the campus and should alert others to do the same. Information about returning to campus will be communicated through the UH Hilo webpage.

Building Evacuation Procedures

An evacuation will occur when the fire alarm sounds and/or notification is given by appropriate personnel. All persons (students, employees and visitors) are to immediately vacate the building in as safe a manner as possible. All persons should follow orders given by UH Hilo officers at the scene. Personnel shall not return to an evacuated building until instructed by UH Hilo security or other appropriate officials. Evacuation drills are conducted periodically for on campus buildings. The building evacuation is documented and reviewed by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

UH Hilo Crisis Management Team Members

• Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
• Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs
• Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
• Director of Campus Security
• Environmental Health & Safety Officer
• Director of University Relations
• Human Resources Office
• Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action

Testing Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures

UH Hilo tests its emergency response and evacuation procedures as defined in the Clery Act on an annual basis. UH Hilo conducts a drill, an exercise and publicizes its emergency response and evacuation procedures via campus email annually. A description of the drill is documented and an after-action report is completed and kept by the Emergency Management/Business Continuity Coordinator.

Fire Safety Report

UH Hilo Fire Safety Report is now published with the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report and is available at the Security Office 24 hours a day or online.

Emergency Response Contact Information

Police/Fire/Ambulance: 911
Campus Security: (808) 974-7911