September 23, 2013 | SharkAdmin Northwest Vista College and Alamo Colleges take crisis planning seriously. Over the last several months, Alamo Colleges has ramped up its emergency training efforts in the wake of deadly tragedies on educational campuses across the nation. Some of the activities that have occurred over the past year at NVC: Many NVC employees have participated in online training on the federal government’s Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized management approach that enables a coordinated response when emergencies arise. NVC crisis action team members have participated in table-top scenarios that incorporate ICS procedures. In March of this year, a group of employees worked through a wildfire drill to learn how to effectively handle various possible situations. Several NVC buildings have had planned fire drills and have been evacuated. All NVC buildings will be evacuated at least once during the calendar year 2013. FOCUSPDCA teams have made improvements in emergency communication, door lock downs, emergency lighting and ADA preparations. We have learned a great deal from the practice sessions that will help us perform better in a real emergency. Here are things employees can do to be proactive: Be aware of your surroundings and report anything suspicious to 485-0911, which is the number to Alamo Colleges’ police dispatch. In a real emergency, call 911 or the police dispatch number. For non-emergencies, you can call 485-0099, which goes to Alamo Colleges Police Department. Take a moment to update your information in ACES with cell numbers, so when an emergency arises, you will be alerted via text messaging. Heed warnings and possible evacuations for your safety and for the safety of our students.
