UT Knoxville’s Emergency Management Plan

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Emergency Management Plan establishes policies, procedures and an organizational structure to handle a significant emergency on or near the campus.

The plan is updated frequently and incorporates the use of the Incident Command System to facilitate coordination with federal, state and local authorities and emergency responders.

The purpose of the plan is to protect the lives of UT students, faculty, staff and visitors. University personnel and equipment will be used to support health and safety services, protect university property and assets as well as maintain core university services.  The plan also addresses methods to assess damages and restore general campus operations.

The plan addresses different types of emergencies and their containment and activities associated with response. It provides instructions for individuals in charge of university resources and for those personnel who may be the initial responders to an emergency incident.

There are three levels of emergencies:

• Level 1 is a minor incident in which a local event does not affect the overall functions of the university. The emergency management plan would not be activated.

• Level 2 is an emergency in which a serious event completely disrupts one or more operations of the university. The emergency management plan would be activated in areas as needed.

• Level 3 is a disaster in which a very serious event impairs or halts operations of the university. The emergency management plan would be fully activated.

Using the Incident Command System in the emergency management plan will help streamline efforts among different agencies. The Incident Command System has specific terminology, command structure, communication and action plans.

UT's campus emergency management plan would be subordinate to federal, state or local government plans if a disaster is declared by those authorities.

The emergency management plan is coordinated through the emergency management team, an incident response team and individual units through the use of their department-level response plans.

All UT colleges, departments and units are required to have a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) that describes key functions during and after an emergency. The COOP complements the main campus emergency plan and provides detailed instructions for all responders managing an emergency at specific buildings or areas of campus.

The COOP also assists administrators and directors in communicating with employees to let them know when operations have been discontinued or resumed.

University departments should have a completed COOP document on file with the campus emergency management coordinating office. See the September 28th, 2007, memo from the Chancellor for more information.

For more information contact, Brian Browning, emergency management coordinator, at (865) 974-3061 or brian-browning@utk.edu.