Shelter in place & lock down

A shelter in place emergency is a situation that requires building occupants to remain indoors due to a threat or dangerous situation outside of a building(s). A shelter in place could be initiated due to a violent demonstration, severe weather, police operation or fire in a neighboring building. 

Normally, building occupants can circulate freely inside a building during a shelter in place emergency unless instructed otherwise.  A shelter in place alert could include specific instructions such as staying away from exterior windows.  A shelter in place emergency and specific instructions, will be communicated via the emergency notification system.

A lock down is initiated for emergencies that present a serious threat to the life and safety of people on campus. Lock downs are generally associated with active shooter incidents or for a suspected armed and dangerous individual on campus. 

At Concordia, because an immediate lock down of all campus buildings requires time, the armed intruder procedure will be initiated in the first stages of the emergency. 

As soon as a serious threat to the life and safety of people on campus is confirmed, a campus emergency alert message will be initiated using the emergency notification system.

Because the objective is to alert everyone on campus, as quickly as possible, the alert message is sent campus wide and will not contain any specific information. The purpose of the campus alert is to advise the campus community as quickly as possible that a dangerous situation is unfolding. Because the emergency alert message does not need to be modified or include details, it can be sent in a few seconds.

You must keep in mind that the emergency may be in your building, a neighboring building or across campus. Regardless, you should stop what you are doing, assess the situation and, if necessary, take whatever action is required for your personal safety (see the Active shooter - Armed Intruder page).

If you determine that nothing is happening around you after receiving the emergency alert, you are probably in a safe area. In this case you should remain where you are until you have more information as to the nature and location of the emergency or if your situation changes.  

Because these situations are often confusing and chaotic it could require several minutes before details are confirmed and messages are scripted and sent. As soon as more information becomes available and is confirmed, subsequent emergency notification messages will be sent, providing more details such as to the exact nature and location of the emergency to help building occupants determine what course of action they should take.