Appendices
Facility Description
Amherst College is a four year liberal arts college that is located in Amherst, Massachusetts in Hampshire County at the intersections of Route 9 and 116. The college has approximately 180 buildings on site, which include academic facilities, dormitories and private residences that are rented or were recently purchased by college faculty and staff. The buildings on campus are maintained by the Physical Plant, which is located at 6 East Drive, just off College St. (Route 9), immediately across the intersection from Dickinson St.
Most of Amherst College sits on a hill that peaks at the intersection of Northampton Rd and College Street (Route 9) and South Pleasant Street (Route 116). At this location, College Hall stands approximately 327 feet above sea level with a view of the towns of Amherst, Hadley, Northampton and the Holyoke Mountain Range to the South. The College is bordered to the North by the Center of Amherst, to the South by Conservation Land and a bird sanctuary, to the East by Fearing Brook and Fort River and to the West by University Drive. Just behind the Physical Plant building, the College is divided by railroad tracks that separate the campus chiller and heating plants from the rest of the college buildings. Each day freight and passenger trains pass behind the Physical Plant with a wide range of cargo that may include automobiles, chemicals, wood and passengers.
The core of the campus has several academic buildings such as Johnson Chapel, Pratt Museum, Life and Merrill Sciences, Frost Library, the Alumni Gym Complex, the Valentine Dining Facility as well as some of the residential halls. The outer perimeter of the college houses additional students in dormitories and some of the faculty and staff in houses and apartments.
Additionally, off-site, Amherst College has acquired and renovated a former military bunker that was purchased from another holder approximately eight years ago. The "Bunker," as it is still referred to today, will eventually be the site for the Five College Book Depository, a collaboration of all five local institutions. The Bunker is located on Military Rd, off of Route 116, across from the Notch Visitor's Center, approximately one mile south of Atkins Farms Country Market at the intersection of Bay Road and Route 116 in Amherst.
Amherst College has a yearly attendance of approximately 1,675 students with faculty and staff support that numbers around 675. Academic departments at the College include programs such as Anthropology, Art, Astronomy, Athletics, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English, Geology, Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought, Math, Physics, Psychology, Religion and Theater and Dance. A Board of Trustees, a College President, and a Dean of Faculty provide primary oversight to the College.
Incident Command Definitions
- Debriefing
- A post incident meeting for the purpose of critiquing, correcting, and recognizing appropriate or inappropriate response to an emergency incident. Such information gathered to be used to modify and improve the Amherst College Emergency Preparedness Plan.
- Emergency Director
- The Emergency Director is the person who has command and control over all aspects of the emergency. The Emergency Director must have the authority to make decisions on allocating funding, calling in outside resources, long term closing of facilities, and other long term, high impact decisions. The Emergency Director for Physical Plant emergencies shall be the Director of Facilities Planning and Management or his/her designee.
- Emergency Management Group
- The Emergency Management Group (EMG) shall be comprised of College and local officials whose roles are directly related to the incident.
- Emergency Operations Center
- The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is the centralized base of operations during an emergency. The EOC for Amherst College shall be the Services Building, unless that is an affected facility. In the event that the Services Building is an affected facility, an alternate location has been established as the Porter Lounge in Converse Hall.
- Emergency Shelter
- A designated facility which may house community members and independently sustain functions such as electricity, heat, water and waste removal.
- Facility
- Facilities may be considered a single building, a group of buildings or the entire physical plant of the College.
- Incident Command System
- The Incident Command System (ICS) provides clear guidelines for responses to different emergencies. In the ICS, the Incident Commander is given the authority to assume command, engage the Emergency Management Plan, activate internal and external resources, and order an evacuation.
- Incident Commander
- The Incident Commander shall oversee the technical aspects of the emergency response. The Incident Commander for Amherst College shall be the most senior Physical Plant Manager on location. This most likely will be one of the following titles: Assistant Director of Physical Plant, Chief of Campus Police, Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Projects Supervisor, Assistant Chief of Police or Systems Utilities Engineer. In the absence of all of the above, the most senior police officer will be the Incident Commander until relieved. Upon the arrival of the Amherst Fire Department, overall incident command shall be transferred to the Fire Department in accordance with Massachusetts Law 527 CMR 1.03.
- Logistics Officer
- The logistics officer will act as an aide to the Amherst College Incident Commander. This will include, but not be limited to, keeping detailed chronological record of all actions taken, all persons present, and any deviations from the policy.