Fire Emergency Action Plan

Purpose of FEAP

This Fire Emergency Action Plan (FEAP) covers all major fire-related emergencies that could disrupt instructional and support activities at Moravian University campuses or sites. This plan covers all federal, state, and city regulations, including the Clery Act, and is annually reviewed and updated as needed.

Annual Review, Updates, and Communications

FEAP will be reviewed annually by the Health and Safety Coordinator and Moravian stakeholders to ensure compliance and best practices are applied. All modifications or revisions to this plan will be reviewed and approved by institutional leadership prior to implementation. FEAP, including any updates, is shared with the appropriate Bethlehem and Lancaster city agencies and available to all Moravian employees, students, and the community on the institutional policies page of the University’s website.

Fire Emergency Action Plan

Moravian University's policy is that all students, employees, and visitors shall vacate the premises in case of fire-related emergencies. Should an emergency requiring evacuation occur on or within University property, the institutional Emergency Protocol Manual (EPM) details the specific response protocols that should be followed.  

Roles

Health and Safety Coordinator

Moravian University’s Environmental Health and Safety Officer has been designated as the FEAP Health and Safety Coordinator. As such, any questions regarding this plan should be directed to Environmental Health and Safety (ehs@moravian.edu). 

 

The Health and Safety Coordinator shall ensure that:

  • The FEAP complies with current federal, state, and local regulations, the International Fire Code, and the National Fire Protection Association.
  • The FEAP is aligned with the University’s Emergency Protocol Manual (EPM).
  • The FEAP is available to members of the University’s Emergency Response Team (ERT)
  • The FEAP is available to city emergency services.
  • The FEAP is reviewed annually and updated as needed.
  • Fire drills are conducted, and procedures are practiced by community members as required under applicable laws/regulations.
  • Monthly and annual inspections are conducted on all fire life safety equipment.
  • All emergency exit routes and egresses are not blocked, and related signage is current.

FMPC

Facilities, Management, Planning & Construction (FMPC) is responsible for the installation, maintenance, and inspection of fire and life support systems. In addition, they are responsible for maintaining records of all University-owned facilities, including classification and building capacity. FMPC is also responsible for retaining records of all emergency, fire and life safety equipment maintenance, repairs, and service work. This also includes necessary documents from all maintenance suppliers and vendors.

 

FMPC is also responsible for coordinating the annual fire inspection with city fire inspectors and correcting all deficiencies identified to remain in compliance with federal, state, and local fire regulations.

Emergency Response Team

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) consists of the University's leadership-level administration and is charged with emergency preparedness, management, and operations at all Moravian facilities and campuses. The ERT uses a unified command structure and response procedures as described in the EPM. 

 

Depending on the type of emergency and its severity, the ERT may designate other University stakeholders to oversee the emergency response and/or manage the situation.

Emergency Response Operations

Moravian University's Emergency Protocol Manual (EPM) is an internal document that outlines the institution’s comprehensive response to emergency situations, including but not limited to fire-related emergencies. The fire-protocols are available upon request to emergency services. This document is annually reviewed and updated to reflect best practices and situations specific to the University.

 

Depending on the type of emergency and level of severity, a unified incident command shall be established. This command will consist of the University’s ERT, and/or their designee(s), and emergency services.

Emergency Notification Procedures

Notification Procedures

Specific notification and response procedures for different types of emergencies, including fire, are described in the EPM, including the need to notify emergency services. These notifications will be sent out based on the type of emergency and its severity.

Alarm System

All Moravian buildings are equipped with visual audio alarm systems to notify occupants to evacuate the building when activated.

MUPD reserves the right to send out a University wide emergency alert depending on the type and severity of the situation.

When the Alarm Sounds

At the sound of the building’s fire alarms, all occupants must evacuate immediately by following the building’s emergency routes to the nearest exit and assembly point.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures

Emergency Routes and Exits

Emergency evacuation escape route plans shall be posted in main hallways throughout campus buildings, and all paths of egress shall remain unlocked and unobstructed at all times, including after hours. Faculty, staff and students shall be trained on the evacuation plans and escape procedures in their building, and if necessary, specific emergency shutdown procedures.

 

Faculty, staff or students are subject to disciplinary action if they fail to evacuate the building within a reasonable time or are still inside during the building search.

Evacuation of Persons Needing Assistance

Appropriate campus offices including but not limited to Student Life, the Office of Disability and Accommodations, and Human Resources shall contribute to a comprehensive list of any faculty, staff and students who request or require assistance during an evacuation. MUPD will notify emergency services to search the building for those individuals on the Bethlehem and Lancaster Campuses.

 

Faculty, staff and students requiring assistance who cannot evacuate the building safely shall attempt to relocate themselves to a staircase with an outside egress or to a designated area of refuge if their building has one.

 

Faculty, staff and students are not expected to carry individuals requiring physical assistance unless they are trained to do so or are acting as good samaritans.

 

Faculty and staff interested in learning how to assist those with accommodations can refer to the Emergency Protocol Manual or contact environmental health and safety for training information.

Areas of Refuge

Individuals who are unable to evacuate the building are to move to a designated area of refuge to wait for emergency services. Buildings with an area of refuge will have signs posted along with a communication system. Individuals located in buildings that do not have a designated area of refuge will move to the top of a staircase with an outside egress and wait for help.

 

MUPD or FMPC will notify emergency services if there are individuals located at the area of refuge or a staircase.

Assembly Points

Assembly points are a series of common locations across each campus that are easily identified. The locations of campus assembly points are listed in the EPM. 

 

Upon evacuation, all persons shall proceed to the closest assembly point to their building until further directions are given either by Moravian leadership, MUPD, FMPC or emergency services. If the closest assembly point is not safe/accessible, the next closest assembly point should be utilized.

Accounting for Occupants After Evacuation

Once a building has been evacuated, employees on scene will make a good faith effort to determine if any faculty, staff or students are missing. Resident advisors (RAs), if available, will assist in accounting for students in their halls.

 

A coordinated effort shall be made to account for all individuals, especially those gathering at multiple assembly points. Those taking head counts will report to MUPD, FMPC and/or emergency services that all individuals have been accounted for, are unaccounted for, or may still be inside the building. If able to, the last known location of missing individuals shall be provided to emergency services to help narrow their search within the building.

 

Under no circumstances should faculty, staff or students put themselves in harm's way to locate individuals who are unaccounted for.

Re-entry

Once evacuated, faculty, staff and students are not permitted to re-enter the building unless permission is given by emergency services, MUPD, and/or FMPC. Notice will generally be given verbally as an announcement once the building has been deemed safe to reenter by emergency services. Faculty, staff or students are subject to disciplinary action if attempting to enter the building without authorization.

Responsibilities

Academic Affairs

In the event of an emergency, faculty and/or staff teaching classes shall ensure their students follow emergency evacuation procedures and provide assistance with identifying any missing students to MUPD, FMPC, and/or emergency services.

Residence Life

For the Bethlehem campuses, Residence Life student staff are trained to vacate their rooms immediately at the sound of the alarm while knocking on residents’ doors as they evacuate. Once evacuated, onsite RAs assist MUPD and/or emergency services to ensure residents are accounted for to the best of their knowledge. RAs are never to put themselves in harm’s way while notifying residents of a fire and/or locating missing individuals.

 

In addition, Residence Life staff are to report to MUPD any pulled alarm stations or discharged fire extinguishers observed while exiting the building. 

 

RAs periodically schedule residence hall inspections throughout each semester to look for safety violations. RAs also report any violations seen during their normal interactions with residents.

 

For the Lancaster campus, fire life safety and evacuation drills are coordinated by the entities controlling and occupying residential spaces in accordance with lease agreements.

MUPD

MUPD, along with the Bethlehem Fire Department (BFD), responds to all fire alarm activations on each of the Bethlehem campuses. If an alarm is activated but no fire is reported, MUPD may assist BFD in ensuring no fire is present. MUPD will also ensure the building is fully evacuated prior to allowing re-entry if no fire is present. During a fire, MUPD will assist with emergency services within the unified command. MUPD will notify faculty, staff, and students when they may reenter the building.

 

MUPD also visually inspects each fire extinguisher on a monthly basis as per federal, state, and local regulations. Any major issues are reported to FMPC or environmental health and safety.

FMPC

A FMPC staff member may be dispatched to assist MUPD and/or the fire department when a fire alarm is activated on a Bethlehem campus. FMPC are permitted to reset the fire alarms and/or fire panels once a search of the building is complete and no presence of a fire is confirmed.

 

The Lancaster campus is centrally monitored by a third party fire and safety vendor. If an alarm is activated, the vendor will automatically dispatch emergency services and contact designated FMPC personnel. If present, FMPC is responsible for assisting with the City of Lancaster’s Fire Department for all emergencies at the Lancaster campus. 

 

Faculty, staff, and students are not permitted to reenter the building without FMPC’s approval (in the absence of campus police).

Emergency Services

MUPD and/or FMPC may assist with emergency services in a support role. For events in which numerous outside agencies are responding, a unified incident command will be established. This will include Moravian’s ERT, and/or their designees, along with outside agency representatives.

 

Faculty, staff, and students shall not interfere with responding emergency services and on-scene emergency operations. Those found interfering with emergency services will be disciplined in accordance with the appropriate University policies.

Fire Safety Training and Orientation

The Health and Safety Coordinator is responsible for ensuring training is being provided and documented.

Academics

Faculty will include a statement regarding evacuation procedures and evacuation routes within their course syllabus for each in-person course. This syllabus statement will include directing students to the locations of the nearest fire exits and assembly points. Faculty and staff shall remind students that additional information about fire safety and emergency response can be found in the student code of conduct and on the EHS website.

Campus Events

At the beginning of each sizable campus event, a general safety orientation will be made by the host, explaining where to go and what to do in the event of a fire and/or emergency.

Residence Life Student Staff

The residence life staff (RAs) are trained by MUPD annually on evacuation procedures prior to the start of the fall semester. This training consists of, but is not limited to, general fire safety, evacuation protocols, and the corresponding responsibilities of the RAs.

Residence Halls

RAs will hold floor meetings with all resident students within the first 10 days of each term to orient residents regarding fire safety and emergency evacuation procedures for their building.

New Employee Orientation

New employees will be made aware of the general requirements of FEAP, including evacuation policies, methods of emergency notification, escape procedures and exit routes, and designated assembly points following evacuation. Additionally, each department will review with new hires their specific emergency procedures as part of the New Hire Checklist.

Returning Faculty and Staff

Any updates to FEAP, including but not limited to emergency procedures, will be disseminated electronically to members of the campus community. Fire safety awareness information is periodically sent to faculty and staff.

Fire Drills

Periodic fire drills take place based on building classification and at a frequency required for each type of facility. All buildings on campus fall within three groups.

  • Group A (Assembly)
  • Group B (Business) 
  • Group R (Residential) 

Fire drills in all buildings are conducted in close partnership with the City of Bethlehem Fire Department or the Lancaster City’s Bureau of Fire to assess effectiveness and to identify areas of opportunity when it comes to fire safety.

 

Unplanned building evacuations will not be counted towards the number of required drills for each building.

Group A - Assembly Buildings

These buildings are generally unoccupied outside of scheduled events. Before each scheduled event begins, the host will orient their attendees to the building’s emergency procedures including, but not limited to, the evacuation routes, the closest assembly points, and other pertinent safety information. Random fire drills may be conducted annually, at varying timing and conditions, with the goal of taking place when most occupants would be present to participate.

Group B - Administrative and Academic Buildings

Buildings under Group B consist of both administrative and academic buildings. Random fire drills will be conducted annually for each of these buildings at varying timing and conditions, with the goal of taking place when most occupants would be present to participate.

 

For academic buildings, this will generally occur either the week before classes start or at the close of each semester.

Group R - Residence Halls and Greek Organization Houses

Group R, consisting of residence halls and greek organization houses, participates in drills, typically within two weeks of occupancy, at the beginning of each academic term where the residence hall is occupied.  MUPD will coordinate with Residence Life to conduct fire drills when the majority of the students are in their living quarters.

Recordkeeping

All recordkeeping is governed by the institutional Records Management and Retention Policy and complies with the International Fire Code, Clery Act, and relevant regulations. 

Training

Departmental, faculty, staff, and student training, including training topics, date of training, name of person conducting the training, and names of employees who attended the training will be documented in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations. The Health and Safety Coordinator ensures that all departments, stakeholders, or individuals engaged in providing training are aware of these requirements and properly document as such. 

Academic Affairs

Faculty will include a University-approved statement in their course syllabus, for all in-person courses, to be shared with students at the beginning of each course.  

Residence Life

Staff will record details regarding fire safety training that has been conducted for students living in residence halls and Greek organization houses.

Alarm System Maintenance

It is the responsibility of Facilities, Management, Planning & Construction (FMPC) to appropriately maintain the alarm systems. The Health and Safety Coordinator shall work with FMPC to ensure proper recordkeeping is being done.

Fire Drills

Detailed records of all evacuation drills are maintained by MUPD to include information including, but not limited to, individuals conducting the drill, time and date of the drill, location of the drill, and other detailed information.

Unplanned Fire-related Incidents

After responding to an unplanned alarm, fire, or fire-related emergency, MUPD will generate a report describing the incident. These reports will be kept on file in accordance with the institutional record retention policy and will include details of the institutional response to the incident. This will include, but not be limited to, reviewing all alarms and reports of fire and investigating any reports of interference with emergency services and life and safety systems.

Hazard Communication

Moravian University is a small quantity generator of hazardous and universal waste. The University has developed an environmental program to ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulations. In addition, Moravian University follows best practices to become more sustainable and green. The University is actively limiting its environmental impact by reducing waste generated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and limiting the use of chemicals identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as high risk or hazardous.

 

Hazardous materials, substances and safety data sheets (SDS) are cataloged and maintained through a University-wide electronic database and in each department. The Cities of Bethlehem and Lancaster’s emergency services may request this information at any time for on campus emergencies or to provide medical treatment.

Academic Areas

Under the University’s Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP), all academic faculty, staff and work study students working with hazardous materials, substances and live specimens are required to complete additional safety training in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations including but not limited to laboratory and environmental standards.

Moravian students participating in academic courses, who are not otherwise under the direct supervision of the laboratory instructor and are not participating in research and/or work related activities, are given safety orientation.

Non-Academic Areas

Universal waste and some hazardous materials generated by departments outside academic affairs are generally handled by FMPC and/or the IT department under the supervision of Environmental Health and Safety. FMPC staff handling hazardous material and/or waste are required to complete additional safety training in accordance with federal, state and local regulations including but not limited to training required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

 

Questions about this policy may be directed to Environmental Health and Safety at ehs@moravian.edu.

 

This policy was approved by University Council 2/8/2022. Revised and approved 4/2/2024.