Emergency Preparedness Plans

MIT Emergency Management (MIT EM) works with MIT departments, labs, centers, and institutes (DLCIs) to develop emergency preparedness plans that encompass emergency preparedness contacts, DLCI internal communications, building information and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) locations, and evacuation procedures. These plans are crafted to uphold the highest standards for workplace health, safety, and accessibility for people with disabilities, in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”), and local, state, and federal emergency management standards.

Emergency Preparedness Plans

MIT’s Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) program ensures that MIT DLCIs develop, maintain, and use an emergency plan specific to their DLCI’s location, hazards, and personnel. Each DLCI must maintain an EPP to ensure the safety and well-being of faculty, staff, students, contractors, and visitors on MIT’s campus, as well as comply with federal laws and regulations. Although DLCIs may have certain hazards unique to their activities or location, the EPP is multi-hazard in approach and is intended to serve as a minimum standard for all DLCIs across the Institute.

MIT Emergency Management tracks each DLCI’s plan to ensure reviews occur biennially, or when major updates/revisions are needed.

Emergency Preparedness Plans Development Process

MIT Emergency Management will conduct DLCI outreach to schedule a first meeting/planning workshop to review and discuss the content of the Emergency Preparedness Plan, DLCI-specific information, and future planning meetings. Once this meeting is concluded, MIT Emergency Management will distribute the EPP-related documents for the DLCI to complete. The DLCI and MIT EM will communicate on plan development to ensure all information is true and accurate. MIT EM will then deliver a draft of the EPP to the DLCI for review. Upon completion, MIT EM will deliver the final plan to the DLCI and begin discussions of training and exercise options and plan maintenance. 

Training & Exercises

Once an EPP is created, MIT Emergency Management can conduct a variety of trainings and exercises to help ensure faculty, staff, and students are aware of the DLCI’s specific plans and how to react in an emergency. MIT Emergency Management encourages initial training for all DLCI members once plans are complete and a refresher training every other year.

Online Training

MIT Emergency Management offers an online Emergency Preparedness Training and highly encourages all MIT community members to take the training. This training is located in the MIT Atlas Learning Center under the category “Community Safety” in the course catalog. This training is listed as “recommended” for all MIT community members.  

DLCI-Specific Training

DLCIs may request in-person or a live, virtual training that covers the topics of general preparedness, reviews the EPP, and provides participants specific information for their DLCI including, but not limited to, evacuation routes, assembly areas, AEDs, security, and communication throughout an emergency. Trainings are presented by MIT Emergency Management in coordination with MIT Police and are customized for the individual DLCI.

Exercises

If requested, MIT Emergency Management can assist DLCIs with conducting fire drills, tabletop exercises, or other exercises to test the DLCI’s emergency plans, all of which can be customized based on the DLCI’s primary risks and concerns.