The recent deaths of eight bystanders at a desert race in California dramatically highlight the need for oversight by experienced emergency managers and other public safety officials for public events, no matter where they are held. When this incident occurred, responding emergency services were no closer than 30-minutes away.
When a university campus hosts an event, there should be layered oversight and accountability. Serious questions need to be addressed:
- Are all of your public safety officials consistently reviewing event plans and coordination?
- Are these officials signing off after auditing the various plans (evacuation, fire safety, security, ingress/egress, etc.) associated with the event?
- Is experienced staff (representing the university’s interests and liabilities) assigned to provide oversight?
These are important questions and issues to address if an event promoter is coming to your campus. In the desert disaster, key officials were not present. Plans were not realistic, and public safety resources were not properly staged. There were no emergency or contingency plans, no communications and no legitimate oversight. The people who were assigned for oversight did not have the experience, training or credentials for the authority and responsibilities to which they were assigned.
These are the key stakeholders and lineup for accountability for a typical university campus:
- Emergency Manager
- Campus Events
- Police Department
- Fire Marshal
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Fire Suppression
- Environment, Health & Safety
- Facilities
- Transportation
- Risk Management
There should be a designated safety officer, someone who is watching for unsafe or illegal behavior, and has the authority to stop the event, if necessary. There should be a designated incident commander – someone who has jurisdictional authority to manage the emergency response and public safety issues associated with the campus event. There should be good communication plans and resources to address any emergency that may occur. There should be a designated liaison between the event coordinator and incident commander.
At the California event, major oversights occurred, and once again, we read in a local newspaper what happens when people neglect their jobs and responsibilities. Sadly we often keep repeating the lessons learned from the past.
We’ve had the Gulf Coast oil spill, Hurricane Katrina, and numerous other events. Michael Dorn recently commented on the need to do things right, rather doing them quickly. It’s called attention to detail. Editor Robin Hattersley Gray recently commented on the need to take plans seriously.
We know better. There are articles written every day that tell us how to do our jobs better, and how avoid the mistakes from the past. I keep hoping one day this comfort zone will melt away. Unfortunately, some people love to wrap themselves up in a nice warm blanket of mediocrity. I am not one of them.
