Lockdown drills October 25 to 27

Lockdown drill feedback

As part of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) and Durham College’s (DC) commitment to maintaining a safe campus, and to help students, faculty and staff better prepare for an actual lockdown situation, the Office of Campus Safety will conduct the following emergency lockdown drills: 

• Tuesday, October 25 — shared DC-UOIT campus at 9:45 a.m.

This includes all buildings south of Conlin Road; South Village, West Village and Simcoe Village residences; Gordon Willey Building; Simcoe Building; Student Services Building; Science Building, U5 Building, U6 Building, Library Building (UL), Pavilion, Business and Information Technology Building; Ontario Power Generation Engineering Building; Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre; Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre; Women’s Centre; Student Centre; Campus Library; ACE; Clean Energy Research Laboratory; and Campus Corners Building. 

• Wednesday, October 26 – UOIT downtown campus location at 9:45 a.m.

61 Charles Street Building, the Regent Theatre, Bordessa Hall (55 Bond Street) and the Education Building (11 Simcoe Street).

• Thursday, October 27 – DC Whitby campus at 9:45 a.m. and DC Pickering Learning Site at 1:45 p.m.

The Whitby campus includes the Centre for Food, greenhouse, Learning Lab – 158 Banting and Learning Lab

Note: All buildings listed above will be locked down simultaneously during the drills.

The following is a description of the emergency lockdown drills:

• A campus-wide voicemail message will be sent as a reminder of the drill prior to its start time.
• A warning message will be broadcast on the campus PA system 45 minutes prior to the start of the drill. This message will be repeated several times.
• Upon hearing the announcement, students, faculty and staff will follow the procedures listed below. These procedures can also be found on posters around campus and on flyers being distributed the morning of the drill.
• Once the drill is complete, the all-clear will be given over the PA system and the campus will return to normal activities.

Lockdown

A lockdown announcement will be made over the PA system.

Once a lockdown is announced, follow these instructions:

• Remain in or go to the nearest room and lock or barricade the door.
• Turn off the lights, stay quiet and out of sight and silence all electronic devices.
• Account for everyone in the room and do not open the door for anyone.
• Wait for further instructions.
• Do not use cellphones or safety phones unless you have information about the threat.

If the fire alarm sounds during the lockdown:

• Assess your area for signs of fire.
• If no sign of fire, remain in lockdown.
• If signs of fire, evacuate if safe to do so.
• If you choose to evacuate, use the safest exit.

The university and the college realize an exercise of this nature can be an unwanted distraction however it is necessary to maintain the highest level of safety and security for students, faculty, staff and visitors. We also understand this experience may be unsettling for some individuals therefore the Campus Health Centre will offer counselling services following the drills.

The campus will be closed during the drill and no traffic will be permitted to enter or leave the premises. Please keep this in mind when scheduling meetings with internal or external parties during this time frame. There will also be an increased police presence on and around campus as part of the drill.

The Office of Campus Safety will activate the Campus Incident Response Emergency Notification System (CIRENS) to notify students and employees during the lockdown exercise. Staff and faculty may email CIRENS@dc-uoit.ca to sign up for enhanced notifications. Employees and students are encouraged to follow the college and university on Twitter to receive CIRENS messages, not only for these drills, but for all emergent situations on campus. In addition, feedback on the drills can be provided via the feedback form found on the Office of Campus Safety web page.