Limited Emergencies

Policy Statement

This policy establishes a protocol for effectively responding to limited emergencies, including the designation of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) staff as the primary Limited Emergency Response Coordinators (LERC). Other trained and qualified staff may also serve as LERC to ensure 24/7 availability of this function.

The LERC will be activated during limited emergencies (see Table 2) that:

• affect multiple campus units and/or
• are large, complex, or require interaction with outside response organizations and/or
• require a longer or more intense response than the affected unit(s) can effectively manage.

During response operations, the LERC serves as Incident Commander, typically leading a Unified Command structure in which individuals from the appropriate agencies and responding campus units work together to develop a common set of objectives while at the same time carrying out their own operational responsibilities.

The LERC – alone or as part of Unified Command – will provide overall coordination of the incident response to:

• triage the needs of affected units
• set response priorities
• facilitate communication
• coordinate resource requests
• lead decision making among the involved units in order to protect people, property, andthe environment, facilitate rapid recovery, and minimize disruption of the campus mission.

In the event Unified Command is unable to reach consensus, the LERC will serve as the lead member to prioritize response objectives and strategies. Senior campus executives will be informally engaged as needed to ensure all appropriate campus resources are made available to the response effort. In the event of conflicting priorities that cannot be resolved, the LERC will immediately elevate the issue up his/her chain of command as far as necessary to achieve resolution.

The LERC will confer with affected campus units, either directly or through a designated liaison, in order to understand their response needs, triage resource requests, and make decisions and coordinate actions in the best interests of the University.

The response objectives will be based on the specific needs of the incident and in accordance with the following campus response priorities:

1. Life safety
2. Incident stabilization
3. Property/environment preservation
4. Research and Teaching Continuity/Resumption

Policy Scope

This policy is applicable to campus units that experience or are affected by limited emergencies (“affected units”), as well as campus units who respond or provide support (“responding units”).

Why We Have This Policy

The campus has an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that details how it will respond to a major emergency or disaster, including the roles and responsibilities of key campus units. Limited emergencies such as floods, fires, or power outages in particular buildings or areas of campus are not directly covered by the EOP. Until this policy was created, the response to limited emergencies was not clearly defined this led to uncoordinated competition for resources, poor communication, improper prioritization of response tasks, and other issues.

The intent of this policy is to provide leadership and coordination during limited emergency response activities to ensure the appropriate resources are made available to shorten the time needed to resume normal operations. The policy defines a limited emergency establishes roles and responsibilities and outlines the LERC activation process.

Responsibilities

Limited emergencies involve multiple responding campus units. The operational responsibilities for those units depend on the role they play in the response.

When activated in response to a limited emergency, the principal roles of the LERC are to ensure that the needs of affected units are understood and prioritized, to see that appropriate command and control leadership is provided to the response effort, and to ensure that appropriate resources are being applied to the response.

In all cases, the LERC will support the affected and responding units to ensure the necessary planning, communication, and execution of response objectives takes place. Table 1 details operational responsibilities for the various entities involved in a limited emergency.

Table 1: Operational Roles and Responsibilities

CAMPUS UNIT	RESPONSIBILITIES
Affected Unit(s)	May request notification of the LERC through UCPD dispatch Communicates response needs to LERC directly or through liaison Participates in a Unified Command structure if requested Provides subject matter input Documents and reports losses and damages to Risk Services Participates in recovery operations
Limited Emergency Response Coordinator (LERC)	Engages the Building Coordinator(s) and affected campus units, and coordinates effective communication Establishes and documents a Unified Command structure (if appropriate) and supports the development of time-sensitive response objectives Serve as a member of Unified Command or as Incident Commander - if an appropriate Incident Commander is not directing the response Coordinates the resources necessary to respond, including external partners Ensures appropriate campus leaders are kept informed of the situation Provides regular updates regarding the status of the response to campus executives, public affairs, and community stakeholders as needed Assists in the development of a comprehensive recovery plan if needed Coordinates after-action debrief process
Responding Units or Departments	May request notification of the LERC through UCPD dispatch Maintain command and control of their own responding personnel and direct their response actions Participate in a Unified Command structure (if appropriate) and provide input into the development of response objectivesCommunicate response actions and status to campus executives Document actions and damage to property and materiel
UC Police Department (UCPD)	Notifies the LERC when requested by affected or responding units, or when aware of a limited emergency requiring LERC support Provides all information known about the emergency to the LERC Forwards further information and inquiries to the LERC Assists with the notification of other campus units and departments as requested Provides site security or other law enforcement support as needed
Unified Command	Consists of representatives from the affected and primary responding units involved in the response When formed by external (government) agencies, may consist of a single University representative (such as the LERC), along with representatives of the external agencies Responsible for overall management of the incident Shares information to develop collective situational awareness Works together to develop and implement overall incident objectives and strategies

Procedures

Activation

When a limited emergency occurs, the responding and/or affected units can request notification of the LERC through UCPD dispatch. UCPD can also determine the need to notify the LERC of a limited emergency in the absence of a request from the affected or responding units, if UCPD determines the need exists based on the characteristics described in Table 2.

Table 2: Campus Emergency Response Levels

SCOPE	TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS*	COORDINATING ENTITY
Routine Response	Involves one or two campus units only Normal response procedures and resources are adequate Scope of the incident is known Can be resolved usually within a short time period Normal operations can continue	Responding unit(s)
Limited Emergency	Affects multiple campus units Scope is unknown or is growing Normal operations may be interrupted Requires resources beyond those available to the affected and/or responding unit(s) Involves a sustained, complex response possibly requiring specialized contractors and/or community responders Response activities are required for an extended period of time	Limited Emergency Response Coordinator (LERC)
Major Emergency	Many, if not all, campus units are affected Normal campus operations are interrupted Response and recovery activities will continue for an extended period of time, possibly lasting months Routine response procedures and resources are overwhelmed	Crisis Management Team (CMT) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Emergency Support Function Operation Centers (ESFs)

Following notification, the LERC will determine the need for activation based on the information received from UCPD, the affected and/or responding units, and field observations.

If an appropriate Incident Commander is not directing the response, the LERC will serve as Incident Commander, typically forming a Unified Command of responding units, until a need for leadership structure change is identified by government agencies or campus executives.

The LERC will determine and document the members of Unified Command and ensure that other needed response positions are appropriately assigned. Unified Command members may change throughout the incident depending on the needs of the response. Responding units that are not part of Unified Command will be expected to provide subject matter input to the Unified Command to facilitate the development of appropriate incident objectives.

When external (governmental) agencies are involved in the response (e.g., Berkeley Fire Department, California Fish and Wildlife, etc.) the Incident Commander may be a representative of an external agency. When a Unified Command structure is created involving outside agencies, the LERC or another University representative more appropriate to the specific incident will serve as the University representative.

Escalation

In the event an incident escalates into major emergency (see Table 2) that requires greater campus coordination, disrupts normal campus operations, and/or continues for an extended period of time, the LERC will request partial or full activation of the campus EOC. Once the EOC has been activated, the LERC will be placed within the new incident leadership organization as needed.

Deactivation

The LERC will remain engaged until the incident ends, the emergency response phase concludes and activities transition to recovery, or the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated.

When an operation transitions to recovery, a Recovery Coordinator will be assigned and an initial recovery plan will be developed. The LERC will serve as the Recovery Coordinator until another individual is assigned.

For more complex recovery operations, a Recovery Coordinator will be assigned by the Vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance, or designee, from campus units including but not limited to the Office of Emergency Management, Risk Services, and Real Estate.

The LERC will transfer the role of Recovery Coordinator to an appropriate University Employee—who may or may not be the Building Coordinator—upon mutual agreement of the LERC and the proposed Recovery Coordinator.

Once response activities have transitioned to a Recovery Coordinator, the LERC will be released from his/her response role. OEM will schedule, facilitate and document an after-action debrief with the affected and responding units as quickly as possible, so that lessons learned from the response can be applied to future responses.

Glossary

• Affected Unit: Academic or administrative unit that has suffered damages or losses due to an emergency or disaster.

• Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Central command and control facility where campus response units and departments come together during an emergency to coordinate response and recovery actions.

• Emergency Support Function (ESF): Coordinating structure that groups resources and capabilities into functional areas that are most frequently needed in a campus response.

• Crisis Management Team (CMT): UC Berkeley’s executive level oversight and strategic decision-making body during a potential or actual crisis situation.

• Incident Commander: Individual responsible for all aspects of the response, including developing incident objectives and managing all incident operations.
• Recovery: The restoration of interrupted utility and other services and space essential for normal campus operations to resume.
• Recovery Coordinator: Individual responsible for developing and overseeing the execution of a recovery plan once the response phase of an incident has concluded.
• Responding Unit: Campus entity providing support in response to a campus incident or emergency.

• Response Objectives: List of response strategies and/or actions needed to achieve a desired outcome.

• Unified Command: Authority structure in which individuals from appropriate campus units work together to develop a common set of objectives while at the same time carrying out their own operational responsibilities. Should the Unified Command structure not achieve consensus, the LERC will serve as the lead member to determine the appropriate response goals.

Related Documents

University of California Policy on Safeguards, Security, and Emergency Management

University of California, Berkeley Emergency Operations Plan

Revision History

June 2017

The Policy Statement was changed as follows (new language in square brackets, deleted language in strikethrough):

This policy establishes a protocol for effectively responding to limited emergencies, [including the designation of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) staff as the primary Limited Emergency Response Coordinators (LERC)]. including the designation of the Emergency Management Coordinator from the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) as the primary Limited Emergency Response Coordinator (LERC). Other trained and qualified staff may also serve as LERC to ensure 24/7 availability of this function.

May 2014

• Responsible Office and Contact information was updated to represent the transition to the Office of Emergency Management.
• Title change to reflect expanded scope addressing recovery as well as response.
  • Substantial revision to incorporate concept of “Unified Command,” and to clarify escalation and other procedures in the event of lack of consensus within Unified Command.
  • Policy Statement was updated to represent an emphasis on coordination and communication.
  • Added Table 1: Campus Emergency Response Levels
  • Revised Responsibilities section and included Table 2: Roles and Responsibilities
  • Revised activation, escalation, and deactivation procedures
  • Added relevant terms in Glossary