Shelter-in-Place Guidelines for NIH Employees |
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May 21, 2003 In the event the NIH would need to react immediately to a crisis situation, the following "Shelter-in-Place" guidelines have been developed to aid NIH employees. These guidelines apply to any emergency or potential emergency caused by natural disasters, chemical, radiological, or biological incidents, terrorist threats and other crisis situations where the safest course of action for an employee would be to remain inside a building. Recent heightened security on campus due to potential terrorist threats to government employees and facilities emphasizes the importance of these guidelines. However, the NIH wants to assure employees, these guidelines are not being issued as a result of the recent elevation of the national threat level. Rather, these guidelines, created in consultation with the NIH Community Advisory Board for Security (CABS), are being issued to aid all employees in the event of any future emergency situation.
Some key points to keep in mind are: · Keep calm – follow these directions. · If you are outdoors, go inside immediately to an area designated by your EO. · Do not attempt to leave campus to pick up children or other family members – they will likely be sheltering in place wherever they are located. · Unless you have an emergency in your shelter, stay off the phones, including personal cell phones. It is critical to keep lines open for fire, police, medical and other responders, for people reporting emergencies to 911, and for other official communications. · Also note that shelter-in-place is the default mode of the Clinical Center in most emergencies because of the impracticalities of evacuating patients and the low likelihood of an emergency that would require evacuation of the entire building.
Comprehensive NIH security information: http://security.nih.gov ORS Information Line website: http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/security/index.htm Security for NIH visitors and patients: http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm Security for NIH visitors and patients Spanish language version: http://www.nih.gov/about/spanvisit.htm OPM Emergency Preparedness Guide: http://www.opm.gov/emergency/index.asp#employee Non-emergency questions or comments: |