On Campus
Rutgers hosts emergency management exercise
This summer, the Livingston Campus was the site of an emergency management exercise that tested the response capabilities of law enforcement and emergency services personnel representing Rutgers, Middlesex County, the township of Piscataway, and the New Jersey National Guard.
The exercise – the specifics were unknown to all but a handful of supervisory personnel – took place on the morning of July 25. According to the scenario, three armed individuals, fleeing the scene of an off-campus incident, collided with a bus in front of the Lynton Towers dormitories on the Livingston Campus. They then abandoned their vehicle and barricaded themselves in the South Tower, taking hostages.
Rutgers University police and emergency services personnel and members of the Piscataway Police Department arrived at the location. They soon were joined by members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT), who were airlifted to the scene by New Jersey National Guard helicopters. The police and SORT secured the area and evacuated individuals playing the roles of students and staff.
The exercise concluded when the perpetrators were “shot” by law enforcement officers as they attempted to leave the building with hostages.
Rutgers Division of Public Safety Executive Director Jay Kohl said these simulations are the best way to ensure that all of the agencies involved can coordinate their efforts and provide an immediate and effective response to any type of crisis.
“The training increases the likelihood of a swift and coordinated response to emergencies, reduces the potential of injury and damage, and facilitates the speedy restoration of university services,” Kohl said.
In addition to activating Rutgers’ emergency operations working group, the exercise also required establishing a command post near the site of the incident and setting up a triage station at the Busch/Livingston Health Center to treat mock injuries. Approximately 150 individuals, including Rutgers’ emergency working group, emergency responders, facilitators, and mock victims participated in the drill.
Rutgers has performed these types of exercises before, including participating in the 2005 nationwide TOPOFF drill, which tested the university’s response to a biological weapons attack by terrorists. Other simulations included a 2004 tabletop exercise to test the response to a bombing and a 2003 drill testing the response to an extreme weather emergency.