Emergency Preparedness

Training is an important element of emergency planning and is particularly helpful for departmental planners that are: 

  • New to role 
  • Have out-of-date plans 
  • Unfamiliar with the UC Ready system 

The campus's expectation is that each building will have a single Building Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and each department will develop and maintain a mission continuity plan. To support departments, recurring training is available for departmental planners. 

Course Catalog 

Individuals with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities may have special needs in emergency situations. The best way for individuals with Access and Functional Needs (AFN), or other disabilities, to ensure that they are safe on campus is to be included in emergency planning from the start. Departmental planners need to reach out to building occupants who may self-identify as having AFN needs and limitations during an evacuation or emergency. 

The University of California, Davis has a comprehensive system for emergency planning. Under this system, each Department has an emergency plan, including a building evacuation plan, and a Department Safety Coordinator (DSC) charged with implementing that plan. 

Employees with AFN are encouraged to be involved in their department's emergency planning and should contact their DSC for more information. The Fire Department has developed a SafetyNet covering guidelines for Emergency Evacuation Procedures for Employees/Clients with Disabilities. 

Students with disabilities should talk to their professors and peers and discuss with them what assistance they may need in an emergency evacuation. If you will be spending time alone in a particular building on a regular basis, you should contact the DSC responsible for that area to discuss your needs. 

In some circumstances, it will not be safe for the DSC or others to evacuate an individual with a disability. In those circumstances, the DSC will notify emergency personnel of the individual's location and need for assistance. 

Many buildings on the UC Davis campus are equipped with visual alarms (flashing lights) that are activated with the building's fire alarm. View list of buildings equipped with visual alarms. 

Preparing for Power Outages 

UC Davis is connected to a location within PG&E’s statewide electrical system that is both redundant and resilient. 

There is a low probability of a sustained campuswide power outage. However, power disruptions at UC Davis are possible and preparation is essential. Numerous buildings on the Davis campus have generators that provide backup power, but in general, they only power emergency systems. 

  • SafetyNet 109: Power Outages   
  • Research Continuity Programs and Resources
  • Lab Preparation Before Power Loss
  • Power outages in areas without back-up power creates the potential for loss of valuable specimens and years of research. Lessen the effects of a power outage, and your chances of research losses, by making the following preparations: 
     
    • Submit a work order to Facilities Management to determine if your specific building, space, and critical equipment is connected to backup power (facilities.ucdavis.edu). 
    • Submit a work order to Facilities Management to determine if your critical equipment can be outfitted with an alarm system. This will assist Facilities Management’s response in the event of an emergency (facilities.ucdavis.edu). 
    • Consult with building managers, department safety coordinators and researchers on best practices within your community and/or specific research area. 
    • Consider installing interruptible power supply (UPS) for equipment highly sensitive to slight power delays or fluctuations. 
    • Familiarize yourself with any emergency back-up power system(s) for your area, including what is covered and how long the back-up power can be relied upon. Contact your facility manager, if you are unsure about back-up power for your location. 
    • Verify that freezers, refrigerators, incubators, and other temperature-sensitive equipment, are connected to any available emergency power supplies. Consult with campus Facilities Management before connecting equipment to emergency power outlets to avoid overloading circuits. 
  • Freezer-specific Information
    • Ensure that freezer seals are intact. Most freezers will hold a steady temperature or remain below freezing for up to 10 hours, if kept closed and properly sealed. 
    • Research how long freezers, refrigerators, incubators, etc. will maintain proper temperatures in the event of a power failure, if not connected to an emergency power supply. 
    • Identify other freezers in your lab or neighboring labs that have a back-up power source and discuss the possibility of borrowing freezer space. 
    • Contact your freezer manufacturer to confirm its compatibility with dry ice. Alternately, some ultralow freezers have a separate compartment for liquid nitrogen to be used as a back-up cooling source, and that separate compartment has a pressure relief valve. See Dry Ice below for more information.
  • Anticipating Power Restoration and Equipment Impacts
    • Maintain a list of essential equipment that may be damaged by a power surge when the power is restored. Consider unplugging or turning off this equipment during the outage to avoid harmful effects when power returns. 
    • Maintain a list of essential equipment that may have an automatic “ON” switch and may come on by itself when power is restored. 
    • Identify equipment that may need to be reset or restarted when the power is restored. (e.g., centrifuges, computers, fume hoods, etc.).
    • Maintain a checklist/plan for how/who is responsible for restarting equipment. 
  • Response Actions in the Event of Power Loss
    • Safety Services and Facilities Management can help relocate freezers to the Environmental Services Facility (ESF), which has full back-up power. You will need to coordinate freezer relocation with the EH&S representative at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located next door to the TAPS building. 
    • Establish a departmental point of contact to coordinate requests with the EOC in the event of power loss. 
  • Dry Ice
    • Under extreme conditions, UC Davis may provide dry ice for use in -80° freezers. However, please note:
      • Using dry ice could result in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere in labs with limited ventilation. 
      • Some freezer types are not suitable for dry ice. 
      • VWR – ultralow freezers will allow some venting through the door, so sublimating dry ice won’t over pressurize it. 
      • NuAire – ultralow freezers will allow some venting through the door, so sublimating dry ice won’t over pressurize it. 
      • ThermoFisherScientific – ultralow freezers are sealed, and dry ice should not be placed inside. 
      • American BioTech Supply (from distributor Thomas Scientific) – on the inside of ultralow freezer doors is a button labeled “vacuum release port” that will allow venting. Test that button to make sure it works.