Emergency Preparedness Procedures

It is the intent of Moore College of Art & Design to assure its students, faculty, staff and employees a safe and healthy environment. Accordingly, these procedures have been developed to provide mechanisms for emergency planning to help minimize injury to persons and damage to property in the event of a fire or other emergency situations. This resource presents a summary of emergency procedures and guidelines to follow for the most commonly encountered emergencies.

Moore's Emergency Response Team Members:

Cathy Young, President
William Hill, II, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
Joshua Wilkins, Dean of Students
Claudine Thomas, Chief Academic Officer, Academic Dean
Shaun Flanly, Director of Administrative Computing
Alysson Cywk, Chief of Staff
Nicole Steinberg, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

The College has an emergency notification system that uses text messaging to alert students, faculty, and staff to potentially dangerous situations on campus. The system is also used in the event that the College is closed due to inclement weather. We strongly urge all students, faculty, and staff to sign up to receive emergency alerts.

Snow or ice storms become emergencies when they are severe enough to warrant canceling classes or when they might impact College buildings.

Always evacuate immediately when you hear a fire alarm sound, following emergency procedures for building evacuation. Do not reenter the building until authorized to do so by emergency personnel.

If you discover the fire:

  • Pull the nearest fire alarm.  The fire alarm pull stations are located next to each fire exit door or stairwell.
  • If it does not compromise your safety, call security by picking up the emergency phone located near the elevators on each floor in the classroom buildings and residence halls, OR

Dial 0 on an office phone:

  • Once you have reached a safe location, dial 215.965.4000 from your cell phone and press 0 to reach security.

Be prepared to give the following information over the phone:

  • Your name, Nature of the fire, Location of the fire within the College

Ask the guard to report the incident to Director of Operations and Facilities or the Maintenance Supervisor.

  • If possible, confine the fire by closing relevant doors.
  • Evacuate the building and do not reenter until authorized to do so by emergency personnel.

Fire Safety Tips:

  • Never enter a smoke-filled room.
  • Feel all doors before entering a room; if hot, DO NOT enter. Stay close to the floor if heavy smoke is present. Never allow the fire to come between you and an exit path.
  • If your clothing is on fire: Stop, drop and roll to put out the flames. Seek immediate medical attention.

  • Gather personal items as long as you can do so without risking your safety.
  • Do not use elevators.Evacuate the building by the nearest stair exit. Go to Aviator Park, across from the front of Wilson and Sarah Peter Halls.
  • If you are exiting via the main entrance from Wilson Hall, Sarah Peter or Stahl Hall, go across the street.
  • If you are exiting via the rear stairwell in Wilson Hall, exit to Cherry Street, walk north on 20th Street, turn right onto Race Street and cross the street.
  • If you are exiting from Stahl Hall via the door that leads out onto 20th Street, walk north on 20th Street, turn right onto Race Street and cross the street.
  • If you are exiting Stahl Hall via either door that leads out to Cherry Street, walk north on 20th Street, turn right onto Race Street and cross the street.
  • Stay with your group during the accountability process.

A hazardous materials incident may be a spill or release of chemicals, or other substances. Do not attempt to clean up spills of materials you believe to be hazardous. Major spills or any spills that involve a fire require emergency assistance. 

For minor spills and leaks:

Call security at the front desk in Wilson Hall by picking up the emergency phone located near the elevators on each floor in the classroom buildings or by dialing 0 on an office phone, and give:

Your name, The nature and location of the spill, Anyone else involved, if any

For major spills and leaks:

  1. Immediately leave the vicinity of the spill. 
  2. Call 215.965.4000 and dial 0 for security.
  3. Tell security that a major spill or leak has occurred and ask him/her to immediately contact the Director of Operations and Facilities or the Maintenance Supervisor.

A civil protest will usually take the form of an organized public demonstration of disapproval or display of disagreement with an idea or course of action.  Because the Parkway is a public demonstration site, civil protests may be staged near College buildings but have no connection with the College.  Other protests may be limited to the College and only involve College students/staff/faculty.

In the event of a civil protest:

DO NOT obstruct or provoke demonstrators Call security and ask the security guard to call the Director of Operations and Facilities.

If a protest becomes violent or disruptive:

Remain calm and follow shelter-in-place procedure Wait for further instructions from Moore’s Emergency Response Team or local law enforcement DO NOT open doors or attempt to leave the building Further instructions will be communicated through email or the Emergency Notification System as appropriate

In severe weather events or other emergencies, the safest course may be to shelter in place within buildings. If the President, in consultation with the Emergency Response Team, determines that it is not advisable to leave classrooms and offices, this will be announced via the College’s text-messaging alert system. If this situation occurs: Close windows and window treatments

For individuals in the hallways, seek shelter in the nearest classroom or office. For individuals that are outside and potentially at risk, take cover.

It is important for the health and safety of all that people remain calm and avoid inciting fear and panic.

Students, faculty and staff should remain in classrooms and offices until they receive an all-clear message either from a member of the Emergency Response Team or from the police.

Watch the Room Lockdown video here.

An active shooter is a situation where one or more individuals, using firearms, attempts to commit harm to one or multiple people. These types of situations can unfold very quickly, and oftentimes there is no rhyme or reason for the people being targeted. You must quickly determine the best way to protect your own life. People usually have three options: RUN, HIDE, or FIGHT.

  • RUN: Get out of the area through the closest exit, regardless of whether others agree to do so. Leave your belongings behind.Help others escape if possible.
  • Do not attempt to move wounded people. When you have safely evacuated, dial 911 from your cell phone.

Provide as much information to 911 as you can:

  • Location and number of shooter(s), Any physical description of shooter(s), Type of weapon being used, Number of victims, if any, and their location
  • HIDE: If evacuation is not possible, find some place to hide in a locked or barricaded room. Turn off the lights and hide in an area out of the active shooter’s view. Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors. Silence your cell phone (including the vibrate mode) and remain quiet.
  • FIGHT: Fight as a last resort and only if your life is in imminent danger. Find something to use as a weapon to incapacitate the shooter. You have to commit to your actions in this choice, YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.

Watch the Room Lockdown video here.

Any time a bomb threat is received, it should be considered as REAL and legitimate.

In the case of a written threat, it is vital that the document be handled by as few people as possible, as it is evidence that should be turned over to the police.  If the threat should come via e-mail, make sure to save the information on your computer. If the threat was left on your voicemail, do not erase it.

If you receive a bomb threat or report:

Write down the phone number. Try not to anger the caller at any time.Keep the caller on the line as long as possible to gather as much information as possible, like:

  • NOISE: Any background noise or distinctive sounds (machinery, traffic, other voices, music, television, etc)
  • VOICE: The caller’s voice? High or low-pitched? Calm, angry, or excited? Is the voice familiar? Did the caller attempt to mask their voice?
  • INFORMATION: Can you get information on the location of a bomb? (building, floor, room, etc.) Can you get information on the time of detonation and type of detonator?

Immediately after the caller has ended the call, call security by picking up the emergency phone located near the elevators on each floor in the classroom buildings and residence halls, OR dial 0 on an office phone, OR dial 215.9654000 from your cell phone and press 0 to reach security.

The Director of Operations and Facilities and/or security will notify the police.  Upon arrival, the police bomb squad will direct the search and give further instructions. Other emergency units will be alerted to the threat and asked to stand by for further instructions. If you discover a suspicious package, do not touch or handle it.

If you are asked to evacuate the building, please follow the procedure for building evacuation.You will wait to receive further instructions from staff members of Moore’s Emergency Response Team.