Central Michigan University Police Chief Stan Dinius said the university is prepared in case of a campus crisis.

“We have a Crisis Response Team with a number of individuals from various key areas around the campus, and we work together to come up with a plan that would respond to emergencies such as power outages, tornadoes, school closures and fires,” he said. “The whole idea is to be prepared if we have a crisis so we can respond appropriately.”

Faculty and staff learned Thursday in the Bovee University Center Auditorium about how to be prepared for a

crisis.

The CMU Campus Crisis Response Team and the Center for Personal Protection and Safety hosted the event to ensure everyone would know their specific roles in an emergency situation.

Dinius is part of the team that devised the plans of action.

“We are having the workshops because we want everybody to be prepared for any kind of crisis and because it’s better to be able to respond with a plan than to have people in a panic,” he said.

The programs also included videos on what to do about violence, gunmen and severe weather conditions.

Presenters talked about being prepared and everyone’s personal responsibilities in a crisis. Optional fire extinguisher training was available after the initial workshop.

A large number of the faculty and staff were included in the workshops. In the morning session, 202 people were registered to attend, and an

additional 168 signed up for the afternoon presentation, but others also attended.

Bridget Dunigan, Robinson Hall director, was glad to see these issues addressed.

“Every situation is unique, and training prepares us for the black-and-white situations, which isn’t what we always see in reality, but I think (the workshop) is a good start,” Dunigan said.

Superintendent of Building Services Brian Senn said the information covered in the meetings was vital to the university.

“I think this was a valuable use of our time because everyone needs to be informed for any kind of crisis,” he said.

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E-mail the author: Andrea Rockafellow