Emergency Protocol – Ruthven Administration Building

Ruthven Building Incident Response Plan

Updated
March 11, 2024

Facility

Ruthven Building

1109 Geddes Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
U-M Building #: 000193

Purpose

To establish an action plan and procedures for the orderly and coordinated evacuation or shelter in place at Ruthven in response to major emergencies. The Emergency Action Guideline addresses major aspects of keeping building occupants safe during emergencies.

Building Incident Response Team (BIRT)

Lower Level:
ITS – Neighborhood IT
Testing Accommodations Center
Building Operations
1st Floor:
DPSS – Guest Services
Office of the Vice President of Research
Office of the Vice President of Student Life
Faculty Senate
Academic Initiatives
2nd Floor:
Office of the Vice President and General Counsel
Office of the Vice President and Government Relations
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
3rd Floor:
Office of the President
Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the University
Office of the Vice President of Communications
4th Floor:
Office of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

BIRT Liaison

The Building Manager is the Building Incident Response Team Liaison. The BIRT Liaison will work to develop a plan for the building. The BIRT Liaison is the designated emergency coordinator with each department in the building. Shannon Meeks is the designated BIRT Liaison.

Ruthven Facilities
Shannon Meeks – Building Manager 734-763-3779
Willie Micou – Facilities Assistant 734-763-2050

Ruthven BIRT Roster

Appendix A – Evacuation Locations

Planning

Planning for emergencies is a crucial element of this plan. The following steps have been taken in planning for emergency evacuation of the building:
1. All exits are labeled and operable.
2. Storage or arrangement of furniture or equipment does not block exits, fire hose connections,
fire extinguishers, corridors or stairs. Good housekeeping is everyone’s responsibility.
3. All BIRT members have been familiarized with their specific duties.
4. General evacuation procedures, located in Appendix A, have been provided to staff and/or
posted in each department. Egress instructions should be announced at all new employee
orientations. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the BIRT Liaison will be responsible for
training staff in regard to emergency exit routes and procedures.
5. The department egress plan shall anticipate persons with special needs (e.g., mobility, hearing
or seeing) and include provisions for their safety in an emergency. Department supervisors will
ensure that staff with special needs has a co-worker who agrees to provide immediate
assistance during evacuation. If it is not safe for the co-worker to provide this assistance, the co-worker
or anyone knowing of a person needing help will notify the BIRT Liaison, UMPD, or Ann
Arbor FD.
6. Fire evacuation drills shall be held at least annually and shall be critiqued and documented by
the BIRT Liaison and a representative from OSEH Fire Safety Services. Prior to holding a fire
evacuation drill, where the alarm is to be triggered, the Electric Shop and OSEH Fire Safety
Services shall be notified. All fire drills are to be taken seriously by all occupants and evacuation
initiated promptly.
7. Exterior doors will not be locked during an emergency. UMPD will determine if building doors
need to be locked on an incident specific basis.

Emergency Response Procedures

Active Attacker

RUN, HIDE, FIGHT

If you know location of assailant, consider escaping if a safe route is available.

IF UNSAFE TO ESCAPE:

Immediately seek protection.
Secure area by locking or barricading door using whatever means available.
Stay behind solid objects away from door.
Minimize noise that may draw attention to your location: turn off lights, computers and radios and put cell phones on vibrate.
Obey law enforcement direction.

Fire

EVACUATE

Activate nearest fire alarm.
Proceed to nearest exit.
Use stairs, not elevators.
Assist persons with disabilities/special needs.
Meet at designated assembly areas
- Primary – Sidewalk between the Biological Sciences Building and School of Dentistry.
- Secondary – Outside CCCB and across Geddes to the grass area.
Stay away from building entrance(s).
Account for individuals.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Hazardous Materials Release

EVACUATE

Alert people in the immediate area of spill to evacuate.
Avoid breathing vapors from spill.
Unless properly trained, do not attempt to clean up spill.
If personally contaminated, seek eye wash and/or emergency shower.
Do not operate any electrical devices, phones (including cellular), appliances, light switches, or equipment with open flames, within spill area.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Medical Emergency

STAY CLEAR

If trained, administer first aid/CPR/automated external defibrillator (AED) as appropriate.
If not trained, stay clear of area where emergency has occurred.
Direct first responders to incident location.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Natural Gas Leak

STAY CLEAR

Leave area at once and go to an exterior location where you no longer smell gas.
Do not operate any electrical devices, phones (including cellular), appliances, light switches, or equipment with open flames.
Do not try to locate source of gas leak.
Meet at designated assembly areas
- Sidewalk between the Biological Sciences Building and School of Dentistry.
- Outside CCCB and across Geddes to the grass.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Power Outage

EVALUATE

Alert DPSS.
If people are trapped in an elevator, do not pry open elevator doors alert DPSS.
Isolate hazardous areas to prevent harm and/or evacuate building as appropriate.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Suspicious Activity

STAY CLEAR

Always report unusual or suspicious activity to the University of Michigan Police (UMPD).
Open locked doors for authorized persons only.
Do not touch or disturb unknown/suspicious objects.
Secure belongings, assets and research.
Re-enter area only when directed by authorities.

Tornado

SEEK SHELTER

Close all doors, including main corridors.
Move to lowest interior space of building (hallway, basement, restroom) away from windows and glass.
Crouch near floor or under heavy, well supported objects and cover back of your head.
If outdoors and there is no time to move into an interior space, lie flat in nearest depression (ditch, ravine) and cover back of your head.
Monitor WEMU 1, WWWW 102.9, WQKL 107.1, WTKA 1050AM, or WLBY 1290AM for all clear.

Evacuation

ASSEMBLY AREA PRIMARY

Sidewalk between the school of Dentistry and Biological Sciences Building (BSB).

ASSEMBLY AREAS BACK-UP

Exit south and across the street from the Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB).

General Guidance

All alarms must be regarded as Do not tell guests it is a false alarm.
Only UMPD can deactivate the alarm.
Do not re-enter the building until advised to do so by UMPD.
If members of the press or anyone else approach you with questions, please refer them to UMPD.
Department supervisors will ensure that persons with special needs have a nearby co-worker who agrees to provide immediate assistance during evacuation. If it is not safe for the co-worker to provide this assistance, the co-worker or anyone knowing of a person needing help will notify a BIRT Member, UMPD, or AAFD.

Fire Alarm

IF YOU DISCOVER A FIRE:

Manually activate the fire alarm system.
Once the fire alarm is activated, call 911.
Immediately exit the building, closing doors behind you (DO NOT USE ELEVATORS).
Lock all cash registers, safes, storage areas and main doors in your department.
Assist persons with special needs.
Notify fire personnel if you suspect someone is trapped inside the building.

IF TRAPPED IN A ROOM:

Wet and place cloth material around and under the door to prevent smoke from entering the room.
Close as many doors as possible between you and the fire.
Be prepared to signal someone outside, but DO NOT BREAK GLASS until absolutely necessary (outside smoke may be drawn into the room).

IF CAUGHT IN SMOKE:

Drop to hands and knees and crawl toward the exit.
Stay low, as smoke will rise to ceiling level.
Breathe shallowly through your nose and use a filter such as a shirt or towel.

IF FORCED TO ADVANCE THROUGH FLAMES (which should be a last resort):

Hold your breath.
Move quickly.
Cover your head and hair with a blanket or large coat.
Keep your head down and your eyes closed as much as possible.

SPECIFIC FLOOR DUTIES

Vacate all occupants of your designated floor to the appropriate evacuation Be sure to check all offices, restrooms, classrooms, etc.
When everyone is vacated and at the evacuation location, radio the BIRT Liaison to let him/her know that you are safely out of the building.
Once the Fire Marshal determines it is safe to re-enter, the BIRT Liaison will give the “all clear” message via the radio.

Door Staff

Instruct staff to move to the evacuation locations, so that we can get as accurate a head count of those evacuated as possible. Do not lock exterior doors of the building.

Building Re-Entry

UMPD makes the decision when to let people back into the building after a fire is extinguished and it is safe to re-enter the building. This usually comes after an air quality check by OSEH and/or the Fire Department after any potential contamination issues have been addressed.