Personal Preparedness
The most effective way to prepare for an emergency is to become aware. In emergency situations, a trained mind becomes alert but an untrained mind panics. Follow the tips below to prepare for before, during and after an emergency.
Before: Smart Things To Do Now
- Sign up for DrexelALERT.
- Sign up for and download the free Drexel Guardian application to to your smart phone.
- Save the Drexel Public Safety phone number (215.895.2222) in your cell phone.
- Check your building evacuation route.
- Familiarize yourself with campus emergency telephone locations.
- Share the Drexel Public Safety website address with family and friends.
During: Know What to Do
Knowing how to react during an emergency can save your life. Try to rescue others only if you can do it safely. Below are emergency scenarios that include helpful information.
An active shooter is an event in which one or more persons commit harm to multiple victims, in a short period of time, through the use of firearms.
RUN.HIDE.FIGHT® is a five-minute training enactment video on surviving an active shooter event to learn what you can do to protect yourself in a life-threatening emergency. Viewer discretion is advised.
What you should do:
- If possible, exit the building immediately and call Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222 or 9-1-1 or contact Drexel Public Safety by using any campus emergency telephone.
- If you cannot exit:
- Clear the hallway immediately.
- Remain behind closed doors in a locked or barricaded room.
- Stay away from all windows.
- Do not huddle in groups.
- Remain calm and quietly call Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222 or 9-1-1.
- Do not leave or unlock the door to see what is happening.
- Do not attempt to confront or apprehend the shooter, except as a last resort.
- Do not assume someone else has called the police. You make the call.
- Do not leave the room until emergency personnel have arrived and given an "all clear" announcement.
Bomb threats are taken very seriously. If you receive a call from anyone making such a threat, please act immediately.
What you should do:
- Remain calm.
- If the threat is received by phone, try to remember as much information about the phone call as possible.
- Immediately call Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222 or 9-1-1; use a campus or other hardwired phone.
- Do not use a cell phone, especially if you believe the location of the device is nearby.
- Follow the instructions of the communications dispatcher emergency personnel.
An evacuation is implemented under conditions when it is no longer safe for students, faculty and staff to remain in a building or a specific area within a building. This requires occupants to move out and away from a building to a designated assembly area of refuge, or out and away from a specific area within a building. An evacuation is most commonly used when there is a suspected fire or hazardous material spill in a building.
What you should do:
- Notify occupants and help those needing assistance in the immediate area.
- Activate the nearest fire alarm pull station.
- Confine the fire by closing doors as you exit.
- Evacuate the building at the nearest exit and call the Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222.
- Do not, under any circumstances, re-enter the building until authorized to do so by emergency personnel.
Fires are extremely dangerous and can spread very fast. If you encounter a fire in your building or residence, get out and away from the danger. What you should do:
- Activate the nearest fire alarm pull station.
- Notify occupants and help those needing assistance in the immediate area.
- Confine the fire by closing doors as you exit.
- Evacuate the building at the nearest exit and call Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222.
- Go to the designated assembly area.
- Do not, under any circumstances, re-enter the building until authorized to do so by emergency personnel.
- Learn more about fire safety at Drexel.
Lock Down is a procedure used when there is an immediate threat to the building occupants. In the event of a lock down, students, faculty and professional staff would be instructed to secure themselves in the room they are in and not to leave until the situation has been resolved. This allows emergency responders to secure the students, faculty and professional staff in place, address the immediate threat, render first aid if needed, and remove any innocent bystanders from immediate danger to an area of safe refuge.
What you should do:
- Stay in your room or office; lock and barricade the door.
- Remain quiet.
- Do not attempt to leave the building or room.
- Wait until emergency personnel give you an "all clear" announcement.
Shelter-In-Place is a procedure where an entire building population is moved to a single or multiple location(s) within a building. It is most commonly used during weather emergencies or when an extremely hazardous substance is released into the outside atmosphere.
What you should do:
- Stay inside the building or, if outdoors, immediately go into the nearest building.
- Close all windows.
- Immediately go to the designated shelter-in-place area within the building.
- Await further instructions from emergency personnel or the Building Emergency Response Team (BERT) member.
- Do not evacuate the building until an "all clear" is given by emergency personnel.
After: Forget Me Not
- Call or send a message to your family and friends immediately.
- Inform them of your location and contact numbers if you were evacuated.
- Call Drexel Public Safety at 215.895.2222 if you become lost or separated.
Additional Resources
- Disaster Preparedness – Make a Plan: ready.gov/make-a-plan
- Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management: phila.gov/departments/oem