In the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, Miami University would be sufficiently prepared, according to Lt. Andrew Powers, administrative lieutenant of Miami University's Police Department (MUPD).
Tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina and September 11 have spurred many universities, including Miami, to improve their emergency response systems and reevaluate their preparedness in the face of a disaster.
Although Miami had emergency plans in place long before events such as September 11 and Hurricane Katrina, additional national funding and planning because of these catastrophes have improved many of the existent strategies.
"They weren't the catalysts that got us thinking about these things; they led to the creation of funding that allowed us to enhance and improve what we were already doing," Powers said.
John McCandless, chief of the Miami Police Department, said that a hard dollar number cannot be placed on the funds that have come in, since many of the improvements are the result of services provided by the federal government, or the results of reallocating of funds already available.
Some of the services and improvements, McCandless said, have come in the form of preparedness training, with a Special Response Team touring buildings on campus over the summer to get a feel for their layouts, should it become necessary to deal with a hostage situation or shooting on campus.
"We try to think up any reasonable scenario that could happen and address that specifically," McCandless said.
McCandless said that the university has been equipped with gas masks, a K-9 unit for the purposes of bomb-sniffing and 500 Mhz radios to make communication with Oxford and Oxford Township police easier.
"If you read the report submitted by the 9/11 Commission, one of the big points seems to be that entities weren't communicating," McCandless said. "If something happens here, we're all in this together (with the OPD and Oxford Township police)."
The MUPD has a number of other precautionary measures, should the need arise, including evacuation plans for structures like Yager Stadium and Millett Hall and electronic information-sharing systems that alert Miami police about regional and national threats. The MUPD also has an Emergency Operations Center on its premises, set up with infrastructure from which commanders may coordinate the deployment of resources during an emergency.
"I think that we're as prepared as we can be," Powers said. "No one can look into the future to see what attacks might occur, but I think in terms of making reasonable preparations for things that could potentially happen that Miami is prepared."
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Miami also learns from the mistakes other organizations have made, through reading reports and summaries regarding what actions were and were not effective in dealing with a specific crisis.
"Each office learns a great deal about its own operations from the information provided by professional organizations, insurance companies, and often the schools that were most affected by the disasters," said Paul Allen, director of business services. "We all use this information to adjust our plans."
Currently, Miami has its own Continuous Operations Plan, which was published in 2004. The plan consists of general strategies for dealing with an emergency, along with a continuous operations or disaster recovery plan. The Continuous Operations Plan includes pre-disaster actions, post-disaster actions, shelter instructions and continuous operation plans for immediate, interim and long-term university operations.
"The plans identify key personnel within the organization, as well as crucial outside contacts such as police, fire, medical, and emergency management organizations in the area," Allen said.
Increased awareness of disaster planning issues over the past several years has led Miami to join several other universities in forming the Business Continuity Planning Federation, Miami's membership becoming effective this past July 1, Allen said. The group allows greater sharing of vital information relating to emergency management. Schools involved include Ohio State University, Ohio University, Wright State, University of Toledo, University of Akron, Youngstown State and Cleveland State.
Although Miami has not had to deal with any significant emergencies, planning and training for such events is ongoing.
"We have conducted several 'table-top' exercises, where scenarios are simulated in order to test decision making and communications channels," Allen said.
Miami is also involved in planning for a possible avian flu pandemic, with Jim Schlager, director of the health center currently chairing a committee that is looking into ways to cope and respond should a pandemic arise, Allen said. The university has dealt with smaller scale emergencies in the past, including weather evacuations from Yager Stadium, and a chemical spill in Hughes Hall in 1998. In all the instances, the events were dealt with smoothly and successfully.
"On a smaller level, the university has been dealing with these things successfully for many years," Powers said.
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