When seconds mean the difference between life and death, we cannot afford minutes to distribute an emergency alert or warning.

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1 CASE STUDY OVERVIEW of the FSU ALERT Emergency Notification System for the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) ENS Session February 7, 2013 INTRODUCTION It is the distinct pleasure of all of us at Florida State University to be invited to contribute to this discussion. We are immensely proud of our FSU ALERT Emergency Notification System, which is highly regarded throughout the nation as one of the best higher education emergency notification and warning systems. While this is certainly not a comprehensive overview of our ENS program, we hope this document will provide you: 1.) Florida State University s philosophy, planning assumptions, and approach to ENS. 2.) A general overview of the FSU ALERT system and its 30+ delivery methods. 3.) Important elements of our plans, policies, and procedures. 4.) A point of pride for us: our FSU ALERT EZ button project. PHILOSOPHY When seconds mean the difference between life and death, we cannot afford minutes to distribute an emergency alert or warning. To that end, there are four main areas that any successful ENS needs to address to ensure there are no unnecessary delays: 1.) POLICIES: Your emergency notification and warning policies must be streamlined to allow for immediate and rapid issuance with minimal bureaucratic interference. The more time you need to call someone and say Mother, may I? the more seconds pass by, endangering people s lives. In the worst case scenarios, you need to empower the lowest common denominators to make a decision and act. In the case of a proposed statewide ENS, this means that all users of the system need the authority to rapidly issue alerts without external approval. 2.) PROCEDURES: The steps it takes to activate your emergency alert system also need to be streamlined. If it takes you minutes to boot computers, login to systems, craft messages, and click Send, then tick tick tick time has blown by. This goes well beyond having pre scripted messages and templates. You need to do everything you can to cut the process down to as close to nothing as possible. I also strongly believe that if it requires more than just pressing a button, that is too much to ask from the personnel activating the system. (See the Campus Safety magazine article at the end of this document for an overview of FSU s EZ Button system.) 3.) DELIVERY TECHNOLOGY: Some delivery technologies are just slower than others. It was not too long ago that we considered minutes for an and minutes for a text message as acceptable. Not anymore. We have worked tirelessly with our Information Technology people and vendors to drop those delivery times to 3 5 minutes or less. Some things are simply beyond your control (e.g. cellular carriers, infrastructure, etc), true. However, if you are trying to save a buck with an affordable vendor, then you will get what you pay for. We decided to bite the bullet and shell out a few thousand more dollars per year to go from an acceptable vendor to an excellent vendor. Having multiple delivery methods (19 primary and secondary systems at FSU; 35 in all) not only bridges the gaps,

2 it naturally provides redundancy should one or two delivery methods fail. There s also something to be said about not putting all your eggs in one basket. If you only one vendor doing everything and they fail, then you just lost your whole system. Integration of multiple systems is truly the way to go. 4.) THE MESSAGE: Last, but not least. I see way too many people struggle with the actual content of the alert message. We beat our heads over and over again drafting endless versions of scenarios, templates, etc. In effect, Florida State University has only one true emergency message: An emergency is occurring on campus. Sheek shelter immediately and seek more information from Yes, I will agree that this message is very vague. However, in the heat of battle, we cannot afford the time up front to try and get it right. Like a General Alarm in the military, the goal is simply to put everyone on alert, get them to respond to their battle stations, and await further instructions. This initial vague message, initiated within 2 seconds from the push of a button, and delivered in 3 minutes or less not only puts the campus on alert, it buys us the time we need to: 1.) figure out what is really happening and 2.) craft the details of the incident and send subsequent updates. In summary, we are never satisfied with the status of our system. We are constantly making improvements and evolving in all four phases listed above. With that said, I am proud that we are at least at a point where literally someone can take 2 seconds to press a button and we have initial delivery across 19 delivery methods in 3 5 minutes or less in most cases. Some delivery methods, such as indoor and outdoor sirens, are instantaneous. Does that mean FSU has a foolproof system? Never. Inevitably, there will always be a handful of people that never got the alert for one reason or another. Thankfully though, that number has shrunk dramatically in recent years.

3 SYSTEM OVERVIEW FSU ALERT is Florida State University's emergency notification system. If there is a condition which threatens the health and safety of persons on campus, university officials will warn the campus community using one or more of the following methods: Primary: 1. Home Page 2. alerts.fsu.edu Alerts Page 3. Outdoor Sirens 4. Indoor Sirens 5. SMS Text Messages Blue-Light Phones 8. (850) 644-INFO Hotline 9. Voice Phone Calls (limited audience) 10. Desktop Alerts (Technology Enhanced Classrooms only at this time) Secondary: 11. Voic Message 12. RSS Feeds 13. Facebook 14. Twitter 15. Tumblr 16. myfsu Mobile App for iphone, ipad, ipod Touch, Blackberry, Palm, and Android devices 17. Digital Displays 18. Network Login Portals 19. Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Tertiary: 20. NOAA Weather Radios 21. Traffic Message Boards 22. Two-way Radios 23. Card-swipe Door Access 24. Seminole Cablevision - Information Channel Television Media 26. Radio Media 27. Newspaper Media 28. Online Media Websites 29. YouTube 30. Linked In 31. Instagram 32. Vehicle Public Address Speakers 33. Family Connection List Serve 34. FSU Emergency People Locator 35. Word of Mouth

4 HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR PLANS, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES As we introduced in the beginning, one of the key elements of a successful emergency notification system lies within your plans, policies, and procedures. We would like to present to you some select excerpts from the FSU ALERT Plan that we feel are important to consider or are best practice examples. Let s start with our mission statement. Objective: The primary objective of the emergency notification and warning system, FSU ALERT, is to provide timely notification and warning to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors of Florida State University of a threat, occurring or imminent, that poses an immediate threat to their health, safety, or general welfare while on campus. Before one embarks on any new plan or project, it is standard practice in our business to come up with a set of planning assumptions. Here are ours: Assumptions In order to plan for and consider the effectiveness of the FSU ALERT emergency notification system, one must take into account several planning assumptions: 1. With the exception of some forecasted weather situations, most emergencies requiring activation of the FSU ALERT emergency notification system will be "no notice." This means that there is an immediate threat to individual life safety. 2. With assumption #1 in mind, there is a need to streamline the activation process for FSU ALERT to ensure timely notification and warning. A delay in providing emergency related information can expose the campus community to dangerous situations. 3. No one-method of communication will reach everyone, everywhere, every time. Utilization of numerous and varied communication methods is required. 4. Electronic communication mechanisms are subject to failure. Redundancy through utilization of numerous and various communication methods is required. 5. Even with numerous and various communication methods, you can never guarantee 100% delivery. 6. Studies have shown that the average person requires three (3) sources of input to fully realize that an emergency is occurring. Inputs may include direct observation of the emergency (explosions, breaking glass, screeching, smoke, chemical or burning smell) or notifications (sirens, blue lights, and a text message). This emphasizes the need to employ multiple delivery methods to reinforce the message. 7. Due to limitations beyond the university's control, a small portion of the intended audience will receive their emergency messages in a later timeframe than desired. 8. Some of the emergency communication methods identified herein are "passive" systems, requiring deliberate action on the part of the recipient to obtain the emergency message. Many will not take this required action. 9. With assumption #7 in mind, a number of the communication methods must be "active" systems, requiring minimal efforts on the recipient's part to receive and comprehend the message. 10. Despite best efforts, errant information may still be generated and distributed by alternate means of communication (i.e. word of mouth). This requires FSU ALERT messages to be clear, concise, succinct, and accurate. 11. Notification systems must account for communication impairments (hearing or sight). 12. Language barriers, such as with international students, will result in misunderstood receipt of messages. 13. Emergency messages must be identifiable as "official" FSU ALERT messages. 14. An aggressive educational campaign is required to introduce the system to every person on campus. This educational campaign must be ongoing to inform each new person that comes on campus through student or new employee orientation. 15. Regular testing of the FSU ALERT system is required to ensure functionality and to familiarize recipients with the system's features. All tests must be evaluated and corrective action recommendations developed, as necessary. 16. As communication technology evolves, new communication methods may be identified as others become obsolete. A constant evaluation of effectiveness is required.

5 With those planning assumptions in mind, we then develop a Concept of Operations. The first thing we did was categorize our different alert methods: Methods The Florida State University emergency notification and warning system, "FSU ALERT", consists of the following communication methods. A combination of some or all methods are utilized depending on the nature, duration and severity of the emergency. Alert methods are classified as Primary versus Secondary and Active versus Passive. Primary alert methods include those which can be promptly initiated; have minimal time to deliver; and reach a broad audience. Secondary alert methods include those which may be time-consuming to activate and / or have a limited audience. Active alert methods include those which require minimal effort on the part of the recipient to receive the alert message. Passive alert methods include those which require a concerted action on the part of the recipient to seek and receive the message. Active Primary: Secondary: Tertiary: Outdoor Sirens Indoor Sirens SMS Text Messages Blue-Light Phones Reverse-Dialing Voice Calls Desktop Alerts Digital displays NOAA Weather Radios Two-way Radios Electronic Card-Door Access Vehicle Public Address Word of Mouth Passive Home Page alerts.fsu.edu Web Page (850) 644-INFO Hotline Voic Message RSS Feeds myfsu Mobile Network Login Portals Common Alert Protocol (CAP) Facebook Twitter * - where available in a limited number of equipped buildings. Variable Message Boards Seminole Cablevision - Info Channel 19 Television Media Radio Media Online News Media Family Connection List Serve People Locator Web Site

6 Sometimes the scenario we are presented does not clearly indicate whether an alert message is needed. Below are some questions we try to answer when making a decision to issue and alert or not, and by what delivery methods. Decision Criteria Five criteria must be considered to determine if activation of the FSU ALERT system is warranted, which communications will be utilized, and who authorizes activation of the system: A. Hazard Type What is the hazard? (Room fire, tornado, hurricane) What is the impact to the University? (Minor, major, catastrophic) What is the potential for the situation to worsen? Is the situation under control? B. Life Safety/Property Protection What is the potential for death? What is the potential for serious injury? What is the potential for minor injury? What is the potential for damage? What is the potential for disruption to normal course of business? C. Urgency How soon does the message need to go out? (Seconds, hours, days) Is there time for approval? D. Audience Who needs to be alerted? (Administration, faculty, staff, students, guests) How many people need to be alerted? (Dozens, hundreds, thousands) E. Capabilities/Limitations What are the limitations of the system? (Limited audience, lengthy delivery time) Which system should be used? (Press conference, bulk text message, siren) How quickly can the messages be sent? (Immediately, minutes, hours) FSU learned early on that there are no black and white, clear cut situations. Too many higher education institutions struggle where or not to issue an alert because their policies only offer them two options: You do or you don t. FSU has four levels of FSU ALERT. Depending on the level, you pick and choose only those delivery methods you need. Alert Levels Depending on the nature, severity, and duration of an incident or threat, combined with the results of answering the questions in Section II, one of the following Alert Levels is selected: A. Full Activation of FSU ALERT: A situation which requires the immediate activation of ALL Primary delivery methods. B. Partial Activation of FSU ALERT: A situation which requires use of only certain, selected Primary delivery methods. C. Information Only Message: A situation which is not a warning of an immediate threat, but rather a dissemination of information that mitigates concern or potential for rumors. D. Public Service Announcement: The distribution of information which serves to promote safety and a culture of preparedness by raising awareness.

7 In order to simplify the whole process, we came up with eight scenario, with corresponding activation policies, which require no additional review or approval. They are locked, loaded, and ready to fire. 1. Dangerous Situation 2. Hazardous Condition 3. Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4. Tornado Warning 5. Flash Flood Warning 6. Lightning Warning 7. Test 8. All Clear Last, but not least is our Activation Approval Hiearchy. I call your attention to the bold, underlines, italicized statement. It recognizes that bureaucracy be damned when it matters the most, when seconds me the difference between life or death. Activation Approval Hierarchy As practical without jeopardizing life safety, the following individuals or entities shall be consulted prior to emergency message dissemination (from bottom to top). If the next person or entity is not available or not feasible, proceed up the list to the next available entity: o o o o o o o Executive Policy Group Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration -or- Vice President of Student Affairs Associate Vice President of Finance and Administration Chief of Police -or- Environmental Health and Safety Director Emergency Manager Coordinator -or- Police Supervisor on duty Police Dispatch Supervisor Police Dispatcher CONCLUSION As best as we could in the short 7 pages we have, we hope we conveyed to you the most important aspects we feel make a successful emergency notification and warning system. The following pages are an article the ran in Campus Safety magazine highlighting some of the challenges we faced in developing our FSU ALERT emergency notification system. It also highlights some of our novel approaches to streamlining the whole process: the advent of our EZ Button system. Enjoy.

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