Fall 2023 building evacuation drills

Dear students, faculty and staff,

To meet state and federal regulations, the OVCAS Environmental Health and Safety Office, in coordination with UIC Police and Facilities Management, will conduct evacuation drills for UIC buildings beginning Tuesday, Sept. 5, through Thursday, Sept. 7, during the hours of 9 a.m.–3 p.m. each day.

The hospital, medical clinics and UIC School of Law will not participate. Also, the following list of buildings will not participate as they have already participated in an evacuation drill or have a scheduled evacuation drill for the current year. All other buildings will have an evacuation drill on one of the above dates.

• University Hall.
• Student Center East and Student Center West.
• Student recreation centers.
• All residence halls.
• College of Pharmacy.
• School of Public Health West.
• School of Public Health and Psychiatric Institute.
• Marshfield Avenue Building.
• Science and Engineering Offices.
• 2242 W. Harrison St.

A building evacuation goes into effect in the event of a fire or other emergency that requires all occupants to leave the building to ensure their safety. Please read the following information regarding building evacuations.

Also, refer to your building-specific Emergency Action Plan and Emergency Evacuation Route maps to see the evacuation routes and designated Evacuation Assembly Area where building occupants should go immediately after leaving the building after an evacuation due to fire or another emergency. Evacuation maps are posted by the main elevator lobby of each floor in all buildings and in the main lobby of buildings that do not have an elevator. In addition, please review the building evacuation guidelines below:

Building Evacuation Guidelines

• Identify the two nearest exits for your area, which are shown on the Emergency Evacuation Route maps. It’s important to know two exit paths should smoke, fire or other hazards block one.
• Identify the location of the nearest fire alarm pull station if they exist in your building. This is the best way to alert others about a fire.
• Follow instructions by emergency services personnel, including UIC Police, the Chicago Fire Department, EHSO or other responding agencies.
• When the fire alarm is activated, leave immediately through the nearest and safest exit. Do not attempt to use elevators.
• If you’re not able to evacuate without assistance, proceed to the nearest stairwell and wait there to be evacuated by a member of the Chicago Fire Department. Once you are in the stairwell, use a cell phone to call UIC Police at 312-355-5555. Be prepared to tell them your exact location, name, cell phone number and any other information needed to assist with your evacuation.
• As you evacuate, close, but do not lock, all doors to slow the spread of smoke and fire. Once outside, move to the building’s Evacuation Assembly Area.
• Once safely outside, call UIC Police at 312-355-5555 to alert them about the activated fire alarm. Be prepared to tell them the name and address of the building.
• Do not reenter the building until authorized emergency personnel give the “all clear” signal.

It is very important to treat each fire alarm as a true emergency. It is safer to evacuate and find out there is no emergency than to remain in the building and find out there is one.

To learn more about your Emergency Action Plan, I encourage you to review the short online training course “UIC Emergency Action Plan Training.” If you would like to help the campus community by serving as a Floor Evacuation Monitor, please complete the online training “Emergency Evacuation Assistance Training for Floor Monitors.”

Building-specific Emergency Action Plans, Emergency Evacuation Route maps and the online training courses can all be found on the EHSO website.

If you have any questions regarding evacuation procedures, please contact Fire Marshal Mark Gaunky.

Sincerely,

John Coronado
Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services

For more information, please contact:
Sherry Krsticevic
sherylk@uic.edu