The procedures outlined in this section are designed for the safety of every Mills community member in the event of one or more campus building evacuations. Take the time now to learn primary and secondary exit routes from your classroom, residence hall, workspace, and other campus facilities.
To prevent confusion, do not evacuate a campus building unless you hear a fire alarm sounding continuously and/or you have been directed to evacuate by a Public Safety Officer or Building Safety Coordinator.
If there is an obvious present danger, such as a fire, evacuate on your own authority alerting others in your building as needed. Remember that during certain emergencies, such as earthquakes, it is generally safer to remain inside the building.
When the evacuation “signal” is given, leave the building immediately, following the primary exit route. If this route is unsafe, use your secondary exit route. Do not waste time collecting your personal belongings before exiting.
Use stairs to evacuate. Elevators can jam and trapping riders inside.
Help people around you to evacuate: knock on doors, check bathrooms, and yell to others as you leave. Assist anyone with disabilities in exiting the building.
Upon reaching street level, clear the exit way immediately. Keep all streets, fire lanes, fire hydrants, and walkways clear for emergency crews and vehicles.
IMPORTANT: In some campus buildings the fire alarm is local and only rings in that building. In any emergency, it is very important to contact the police/fire/ambulance at 911 and the department of Public Safety at ext. 5555.
Several locations have been designated Emergency Assembly Areas (EAA) on the Mills campus. Take time to locate the primary EAA for your office or residence on the list below. If the primary EAA for your building is unsafe, Public Safety Officers or Building Safety Coordinators will inform you of the alternate emergency assembly area.
| Building | Emergency Assembly Area |
|---|---|
| Julia Morgan School | Soccer Field |
| Aquatic Center | Soccer Field |
| Art Center | Post Parking Lot |
| Carnegie Hall | The Oval |
| Chapel | Soccer Field |
| Children's School | Education Center Basketball Court |
| CPM | The Oval |
| Cowell | President's Meadow |
| Corporation Yard | Corporation Yard Parking Lot |
| Education Complex | Ethel Moore Lower Parking Lot |
| Faculty Village | Faculty Village Traffic Circle |
| Fine Arts Annex | The Oval |
| Founders Commons | Post Road Parking Lot |
| GSB | GSB Front Lawn |
| Haas Pavilion | President's Meadow |
| Kimball House | CPM Parking Lot |
| Natural Science Building | Holmgren Meadow |
| Lisser Hall | Holmgren Meadow |
| Lucie Stern Hall | The Oval |
| Mills Hall | The Oval |
| Music Building | President's Meadow |
| Vera Long | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Olin Library | Holmgren Meadow |
| Reinhardt Alumnae House | Post Parking Lot |
| Residence Halls | |
| Ege Hall | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Ethel Moore Hall | Ethel Moore Lower Parking Lot |
| Larsen House | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Mary Morse Hall | Underwood Avenue Service Road |
| Olney Hall | Art Building Road (Art Museum turn-about) |
| Orchard Meadow Hall | President's Meadow |
| Prospect Hill Apartments | Underwood Avenue Service Road |
| Reinhardt Hall | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Ross House | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Underwood Apartments | Underwood Service Road |
| Courtyard Townhouses | Richards Parking Lot |
| White Hall | Post Road Parking Lot |
| Richards Lodge | Soccer Field |
| Rothwell Center | Holmgren Meadow |
| Sage Hall | The Oval |
Move to the Emergency Assembly Area (EAA) designated for the building you are in at the time of the emergency. In some emergency situations, these areas may not be safe. Building Safety Coordinators and/or college personnel will inform you of the alternate EAA in these situations. Once people have gathered in the designated EAA, safety coordinators will take an accurate head count of evacuees. Do not return to an evacuated building until ‘‘all clear’’ instructions are given by college personnel and/or safety coordinators.
If the emergency is campus wide (a multi-structure fire, major earthquake, chemical spill, etc.), immediately proceed to the nearest EAA. Building Safety Coordinators will have rosters of all building occupants and will take an accurate head count of evacuees. In addition to local EAA check-in, it is critical to check in at the EAA for your residence hall or building so others do not worry needlessly or spend valuable time searching for you. Once in your EAA, further instructions will be given by college personnel and/or safety coordinators.
Stay on campus until you have been accounted for and have been cleared to leave. Realize that in major emergencies, roads may be damaged or blocked by debris, making travel dangerous or impossible. In these situations, it may be necessary to stay on campus for several hours or even days.
If an earthquake, flood, or other emergency forces a large number of people to "shelter in place" for an extended period, Mills College has procedures and provisions to house and feed the campus community. Information regarding travel safety will be passed on to community members as it becomes available.
In some emergency situations, it may be necessary to evacuate the entire Mills population to an off campus location. Notification of such an evacuation will be given by Public Safety Officers or Building Safety Coordinators who inform you of where to evacuate to and designated route(s) to follow. Persons with cars will be advised to use their own vehicle and provide rides to anyone without a vehicle. Persons unable to obtain a ride will be instructed to report to a designated staging area for transportation using campus vehicles. Campus transportation resources will be allocated first to children and individuals with disabilities.