4.15 Emergency Response Plan

FEELC has developed an emergency plan to cover situations ranging from severe weather conditions to a widespread RTP area threat. A copy of the FEELC Emergency Response Plan is available from the Center office upon request.

FEELC EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

This is an overview of the First Environments Early Learning Center’s (FEELC) Emergency Response Plan on the EPA Campus. An Inclement Weather and Emergency Hotline, 541-KIDZ (5439), will be updated by staff to keep parents informed of certain situations at FEELC. Email and the Parent Phone Tree are other options which may also be used.

The priorities for an emergency response are that the Executive Director makes the response decisions based upon the best interest of the children’s safety while ensuring a robust accountability process for all children.

There are three basic responses to an emergency situation at FEELC;

  1. Shelter in Place
  2. Evacuate (assembly outside the Center), or
  3. Relocate the children and staff away from the Center.

1. Shelter in Place

In certain emergency situations (e.g., severe storms, tornadoes, snow, and hazardous materials) the need to Shelter in Place may be determined. This action provides short or long term care for children when normal routines are interrupted. This may be temporary until FEELC can resume normal operations or until all children are picked up by Parents.

2. Evacuation (Assembly)

In the event of an evacuation, FEELC children and staff will report to nearby evacuation assembly areas located outside of the facility. This evacuation may be temporary until FEELC can resume normal operations or until all children are picked up by parents.

The four designated assembly areas are:

  • Infants and One-Year-Old (Toddlers) Classrooms: evacuate and meet at Assembly Area 1 (grassy island area in front of the facility)
  • Multipurpose and Kitchen areas: evacuate and meet at Assembly Area 2 (grassy area in front of the facility on the far side of the bicycle rack)
  • Two-Year-Old (Middlers) Classrooms: evacuate and meet at Assembly Area 3 (playground area in the back of the facility along the fence but inside the perimeter of the fence)
  • Preschool Classrooms: evacuate and meet at Assembly Area 4 (playground area in the very back of the facility inside the perimeter of the fence)

If the evacuation poses an immediate area threat (i.e., bomb threat, flood, other major building problem, etc.), or if the situation is prolonged or if there is inclement weather, the Executive Director, in conjunction with EPA Security, may elect to relocate the children and staff to the Café on the first floor of EPA’s Building C. EPA Security will escort the children and staff from the assembly areas to the Café.

If it becomes necessary for parents to pick up their children from the Café, they will be notified via email, telephone, and/or the Inclement Weather and Emergency Hotline, 541-KIDZ (5439). Parents should drive up to the main EPA visitor’s parking lot in front of Building C, park their vehicles, and go into the lobby. FEELC staff will coordinate the pickup of the children in the lobby. The children in the Café will be escorted by staff upstairs to the lobby to meet up with their parents or designee.

3. Relocation

In the event of a more widespread area threat (i.e., sponsor evacuation, chemical spill, widespread fire, etc.) or a mass ordered evacuation (i.e., Code Red Homeland Security Threat), a relocation of FEELC will be necessary. Under such circumstances, children and staff will either be relocated to the Café on the first floor of EPA’s Building C or relocated elsewhere. It must be stressed that such actions (to relocate off the EPA Campus) will only be taken under extreme situations where the danger to the children is imminent. At the time of such emergency, the Executive Director, upon consultation with EPA Security, will specify the relocation site in and around RTP. Under these circumstances, the Executive Director will keep parents informed via email, telephone, local media, and the Inclement Weather and Emergency Hotline.

FEELC will continue care of all children until they are picked up by the parents or the authorized individual. Thirty minutes after the center closes during an emergency and the child has not been picked up, the staff will call the parents and the authorized individual. One hour after the center has closed and there is still no contact from the parents or the authorized individual, the Department of Social Services (DSS) will be contacted. If help from DSS is not available, the Executive Director will authorize one of the Administrative Staff or one of the Program Coordinators (lead teachers) or herself to take the child(ren) home with them.

Last updated: 1/26/2017