Emergency Response Team (Procedure 8.1000)

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to define membership and responsibilities of the Emergency Response Team (ERT).

Procedure

1. Members of the ERT shall include the following:
   1. Command Staff
      1. Incident Commander
         • Director, Safety and Security
      2. Safety Officer
         • Manager, Risk Assessment, Environmental Health, Safety and Compliance
      3. Liaison Officer-ERT Chair
         • VP, Public Policy and General Counsel
      4. Public Information Officer
         • VP, Marketing and Strategic Communications
   2. General Staff
      1. General Staff shall be appointed by the Divisional/Departmental Vice President. Appointees will serve two years at a minimum. Members may be reappointed for additional terms. Vice Presidents may, at their discretion, remove and appoint new members as necessary.
         • Operations Section
           1. Safety and Security
         • Planning Section
           1. Academic Affairs
           2. Student Affairs
              1. A student representative may be appointed by Student Affairs as a resource and to aid in communication.
           3. Campus Manager
         • Logistics Section
           1. Facilities
           2. Information Technology and Institutional Resources
         • Finance/Administration Section
           1. Finance
           2. Human Resources
2. Governance
   1. ERT shall operate in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA), National Incident Management System (NIMS) principles and best practices to "prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from all incidents." The ERT shall implement the Incident Command System (ICS) in its planning for and response to incidents, emergency situations or other events (including planned events) as directed by the President. Members of the ERT shall undergo minimum required training as designated by the Command Staff.
      
      
3. Authority and Responsibilities
   1. The ERT will function as the decision-making team for emergencies and other incidents affecting College operations.
      1. The ERT shall be activated by Command Staff upon consultation with the President. The determination to activate shall be made on a case-by-case basis considering the scope and nature of the incident or event at issue. In emergency situations, the ERT may be activated immediately by the Chair or Incident Commander depending on the circumstances. The Chair and/or the Incident Commander shall advise and inform the President regarding activation as soon as is practicable.
      2. Upon ERT's activation by the Command Staff, all ERT members shall report to the Incident Commander or their ICS supervisor for that incident as designated by the Incident Commander. In such cases, ERT members' day-to-day supervisors shall ensure the members' regular work is otherwise covered until the incident has concluded and the ERT has been deactivated by the Command Staff.
   2. The ERT will prepare a written Emergency Operations Plan ("Plan") that will be reviewed annually and updated as needed.
   3. The ERT will recommend procedures to implement the Plan including, but not limited to, the College's emergency response, recovery, mitigation, risk reduction, prevention, and preparedness.
   4. The ERT Chair and the Executive Director, Safety and Security will serve as the College's liaisons to the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management in order to facilitate consistency and coordination between the College's Plan and that of Seminole County.
   5. The ERT may create and manage a separate team (or teams) of individuals across campuses and/ or departments to assist it in fulfilling its responsibilities. ERT shall define the membership for this team (or teams) and direct its work. ERT may disband or alter the membership or duties for these teams as necessary to ensure they provide efficient and effective support for ERT.
      
      
4. ERT recommendations will be implemented through the Executive Team.

Rulemaking Authority and Law(s) Implemented: Florida Statute[s] §§ 1001.64, 1001.65; F.A.C. 6A-14.0261, Policies 1.020, 2.105, 3.090, 6.030 and 8.010

History-Adopted 5/2002 Revised 5/2009, 8/2011, 3/2012, 8/2013, 10/2013, 12/2013, 1/2014, 12/2014, 3/2015, 3/2019, 3/2021, 12/2025 formerly 1.2000