Emergency Management
Oakland Campus

Northeastern is committed to ensuring that in an emergency situation we have the tools, training, and expertise to provide consistent communication, immediate responses, and quality education and preparedness. Our priorities are to protect lives, secure critical infrastructure, and resume our regular academic and support services as soon as possible.


Preparing for an Emergency

Taking steps to be prepared in case of a disaster or emergency is important. Making sure that your campus emergency alert contact information is current, knowing your evacuation assembly area, and reviewing the Emergency Guidebook (PDF) for the Oakland campus can make all the difference when an emergency happens.

Who to Call in an Emergency

Knowing who to call in an emergency is critical for your safety and the safety of those around you.

Emergency: 911 (Call or Text) and 510.430.3333 (Call Only)
Extension 3333 from any campus phone

Oakland Public Safety Non-Emergency Contact Information

Non-Emergency Telephone: 510.430.5555
Email:[email protected]
Location: CPM, Room 113

Administrative Office Hours:
Monday–Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm Pacific Time, Closed 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

Emergency Evacuation Plan
The campus has an established evacuation plan in the event of an emergency. The plan includes when to evacuate a building, where to assemble in an evacuation based on your campus location, and what to do after an evacuation.

Emergency Map (PDF)

Evacuation Procedures
The procedures outlined in this section are designed for the safety of every Oakland campus community member in the event of one or more building evacuations. Take the time now to learn primary and secondary exit routes from your classroom, residence hall, workspace, and other campus facilities.

When to Evacuate

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.

Evacuation Procedures

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, 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 Oakland Public Safety at 510.430.5555 (extension 5555 from any campus phone).

After the Building is Evacuated

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 Northeastern 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 Northeastern 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.

Emergency Stays on Campus

If an earthquake, flood, or other emergency forces a large number of people to “shelter in place” for an extended period, Northeastern has procedures and provisions to house and feed the Oakland campus community. Information regarding travel safety will be passed on to community members as it becomes available.

Campus-wide Evacuations

In some emergency situations, it may be necessary to evacuate the entire Oakland campus 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.

Emergency Assembly Areas

Several locations on Northeastern’s Oakland campus have been designated as emergency assembly areas (EAA). Take time to locate the primary EAA for your office or residence in the list below and on the Emergency Map (PDF). 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 Complex 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 (Lokey School) 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
F.W. Olin Library Holmgren Meadow
Reinhardt Alumnae House Post Parking Lot

 

Residential Building Emergency Assembly Area
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

 

What to Do After a Disaster

Following a disaster, it is important to let your family and friends know that you are safe. The American Red Cross has established a Contact and Locate website that we will use if a significant emergency or disaster impacts our campus. Everyone will be encouraged to go to the website to report their status. The information you can post includes:

  • Your name
  • Whether you are safe
  • Your location
  • Contact information
  • A custom message

Family and friends will be directed to the Safe and Well website and will be able to search for you based on the information you provide. Please note that phone lines may be busy or unavailable after a significant event, and our resources will be directed toward response and recovery efforts. As such, we will not be able to provide individual status updates.