NSU to participate in large-scale emergency exercise Nov. 9

To meet the recommendations of Governor Brad Henry's Campus Life and Safety and Security Task Force, Northeastern State University's Department of Public Safety and Campus Police will participate in a large-scale emergency drill Nov. 9.

Numerous other agencies will participate, including the Tahlequah Fire Department, Tahlequah City Hospital, TCH and Cherokee Nation EMS, W.W. Hastings Hospital, EagleMed, Cherokee County 911, Tahlequah Public Works Authority, Cherokee County Emergency Management, Cherokee Nation Emergency Management, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Red Cross, the Tahlequah Police Department and the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service.

Captain James Bell of NSU DPS explained the scope of the exercise, but could not reveal all its details.

"This is going to be a big event," he said. "There's going to be a lot of activity on campus. There will be firetrucks and ambulances and police and helicopters, but it is just a drill. I can't disclose what type of emergency the drill will actually address because we want the responders to first get that information when they arrive on site."

The exercise, to be conducted under the guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is expected to last 4-5 hours and will utilize the Incident Command System (ICS) structure, a nationwide emergency response framework. The drill will test the ability of multiple agencies to respond in concert.

"CLASS 2010 issued several recommendations that we become compliant with the national response framework and that we use that chain of command and structure when we respond to an event," said Bell. "Part of that is also to be able to communicate with the different local agencies that would respond with us."

Dr. Tom Jackson, assistant vice president for academic affairs and a lieutenant for the campus police reserves, said NSU is compliant with FEMA's National Incidents Management System (NIMS), which he called "a gold standard" for demonstrating readiness for disaster and hazards response.

"The safety and security of our students, staff and faculty is of the utmost concern to NSU," he said. "NSU was first certified by the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security as being NIMS compliant in 2008, and was recertified this year. As part of NIMS compliance certification, an institution must demonstrate it has the training, education, experience and professional emergency staff to respond to all types of disasters and incidents."

NSU DPS Chief Patti Buhl said notification of Tahlequah's citizens and students to prevent public alarm is a top priority.

"Our plans are to let the campus and the community know what's going on through all information outlets, but we're also doing some stuff on site," she said. "We have a variety of fail-safes in place so people that come upon it will know what's going on. We'll put up signs at frequent intervals explaining the activity is related to a drill. We're doing all we can to make sure the campus community and Tahlequah know what we're doing."

While NSU's public safety department looks forward to testing its communications and interoperability with other area responders, the exercise will also be a test of the department's Campus Community Emergency Response Team. Members of CCERT include residence hall managers, resident assistants and parking officers. Bell and Buhl explained the team is intended to operate on and off campus.

"They're trained by the Department of Homeland Security in light search and rescue, fire suppression, first aid and the ICS," said Bell. "They can also clear an emergency landing zone and give hand signals to helicopters. Because we're a small agency, CCERT will be primary responders to a major incident on campus, but they are also a resource for the community. This will be our first opportunity to see them demonstrate their capabilities and spot any adjustments that need to be made."

Buhl said the sheer sweep of the drill would heighten the effectiveness of emergency response on campus and throughout Tahlequah and Cherokee County.

"There are probably few agencies in the area or even the state that have conducted an exercise on this scale," she said. "The beauty of this is NSU will be able to work with all these other agencies. With enhanced communications and operability, we might be able to help them with an incident. We want to make our joint responses as seamless as possible."