7.1 Responsibility for Decision to Evacuate
The decision to implement this Plan is the responsibility of the Incident Commander or UT Chief of Police, in consultation with the Chancellor for Agriculture or his/her designated representative.
Once the EOC is activated, all decisions for evacuation will be the Incident Commander’s
responsibility.
7.2 Notification to Evacuate
7.2.1 During Office Hours
(8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday)
If a decision is made to evacuate, the Zone Coordinator will notify the Institute of Agriculture Director of Services.
- The Director of Services will assign one or more persons to notify each departmental office by the most appropriate combination of telephone, e-mail, or text messaging systems and issue the order to evacuate.
- The department head or appointed representative will issue the order to evacuate to all persons under his/her authority as well as to any students or visitors who might be in the facilities.
In the event the above means of evacuation notification does not function, the Zone Coordinator will assign one person to go to each building (where safe to do so) and verbally to instruct all persons immediately to leave the building or area. This will include non-standard work locations such as handling animal outside, or personnel working in greenhouses. If it is deemed unsafe to enter a building, a loud verbal notice of the evacuation will be given in place of entering the building.
7.2.2 Evenings, Weekends and Holidays
Certain areas on the Agricultural Campus are routinely occupied during times other than normal working hours. These include the places listed below.
- Pendergrass Ag/Vet Library
- CVM live-in Quarters, rooms B301-317
- Small Animal ICU
- Meeting Rooms
- Faculty/Graduate Offices
- Computer Lab in Biosystems Engineering, rooms 276-278
- Johnson Animal Research and Teaching Unit
If an emergency arises which requires evacuation, the procedure described above will not function. Individuals should immediately contact University Police who may then carry out an evacuation. The procedure will be as follows:
- Evacuation recommendations will be relayed IMMEDIATELY to the University of Tennessee Police, 974-3114.
- The University of Tennessee Police will assign one or more persons or building commanders to go to each building (where safe to do so) and verbally instruct all persons to leave the building or area immediately. If it is deemed unsafe to enter a building, a loud verbal notice of the evacuation, accompanied by a siren blast, will be given in place of entering the building.
- University Police will contact the College of Veterinary Medicine Live-in Quarters, Rooms B301-317 CVM at 974-5620 or 974-5621, the small animal ICU and the large animal ICU.
7.3 Evacuation Routes and Meeting Locations
Employees, students, and visitors in the area(s) to be evacuated will IMMEDIATELY cease all
activities, shut off all equipment and proceed as instructed.
Evacuation routes are posted at various locations inside the buildings. The evacuation routes from each building or area will generally be toward the nearest parking areas. Motorists will leave the campus as directed in the event the Agriculture Campus must be evacuated.
DO NOT USE ELEVATORS during any emergency/evacuation situation!
7.3.1 Small Scale Evacuation
If the evacuation affects a limited area of the Agricultural Campus, evacuated persons may be asked to report to a designated meeting location which will be identified when the evacuation notice is given. All persons will be accounted for, by department/section, at the designated meeting location.
7.3.2 Large Scale Evacuation
If the evacuation affects most or all of the Agricultural Campus, evacuated persons will be instructed to go home. A thorough search of the facilities will be conducted at the earliest possible time to ensure that no persons remain.
The primary means of evacuation will be by private vehicles. It is expected that drivers will make every effort to fill each vehicle to capacity during an evacuation, regardless of whether the passengers’ destinations are in the direction the driver will be traveling.
This will reduce the traffic congestion and also ensure that all persons will have transportation. Drivers will then transport the riders to their destinations.
Knox Area Transit buses which are on campus at the time of the emergency will also be utilized if possible to transport persons from the Agricultural Campus during an emergency evacuation.
Traffic must be able to enter Neyland Drive without delay from other traffic in order to evacuate.
Traffic control assistance will be required from UT Police, Knoxville Police, Knox County Sheriff, or Tennessee Highway Patrol to permit safe, quick egress from the Agricultural Campus, particularly at the intersections with Neyland Dr and Highway 129.
If access to Neyland Drive is prohibited, vehicular egress across lawns to access Alcoa Highway may be used. If vehicular egress is not an option, the Third Creek Bike Trail will be utilized for pedestrian evacuation.
7.4 Evacuation of Persons With Disabilities
Physically impaired persons may experience difficulty during an evacuation due to their physical condition and other circumstances, such as being forced to use stairways instead of elevators. It is expected that able-bodied persons will assist the physically impaired to whatever extent is necessary to ensure that they reach safety. Ill or injured persons will be cared for in the most appropriate manner, ensuring that neither the victim nor the person providing care are exposed to unreasonable danger.
7.5 Evacuation of Nearby Facilities
If the KCEMA Incident Commander determines the need to evacuate facilities adjacent to the Campus, one of more persons will be delegated the responsibility to notify those facilities by phone or door-to-door. Arrangements for shelter-in-place are not anticipated in the event of an emergency since there are no residences located on or immediately adjacent to the Agricultural Campus.
7.6 Evacuation of Research Animals and Livestock
No attempt will be made to evacuate research animals or livestock until the safety of all affected humans has been ensured and the emergency has been reported as outlined in this Plan. Evacuation of animals and livestock will not be attempted if it presents unreasonable risk to the health of personnel, whether University personnel or emergency responders. Animal evacuation will not be attempted if there is a risk to the public from release of frightened animals or if it will block personnel leaving the campus.
If evacuation of animals from the College of Veterinary Medicine is necessary and possible, animals may be placed in other areas of the campus. The veterinarians in charge of the clinics will decide where to locate the animals. Suitable vehicles are required to transport the animals to facilities of the East Tennessee Research and Education Center, the Cherokee Large Animal Facility or other appropriate locations.