In a display of excellent campus teamwork, multiple Administration departments helped respond to two major events on the same day that were coordinated through the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) by the Office of Emergency Management (OEM).
During a Nov. 14 United Auto Workers demonstration, a water main ruptured on the south side of Boyer Hall, spilling thousands of gallons of water onto Charles E. Young Drive South and into the lower floors of the Biomedical Sciences Research Building, significantly affecting critical research facilities and operations.
Strong and quick communication helped minimize damage and mitigate impacts to campus and surrounding streets. EOC coordinated efforts and tactical on-scene operations among key campus departments, including Facilities Management, Events & Transportation, Student Affairs, Strategic Communications, Employee Labor Relations, Environment, Health & Safety, veterinary staff, campus police and fire personnel, as well as nearby building occupants.
OEM used incident action plans and situation status updates to report to campus leadership and stakeholders. Once the water main was shut off, the EOC worked with stakeholders to coordinate mitigation and recovery efforts. Upon transition into the recovery phase, the EOC scaled operations to continue to focus on UAW activities for the duration of the demonstration. Thank you to all who helped make this activation and incident response a success!
