Extreme emergencies such as major fire, tornado, extended power outage, epidemic, etc. may require the closing of a building(s), the interruption or suspension of classes, and the relocation of hundreds or thousands of students, whether for a relatively short period (e.g. less than 12 hours) or for an extended period (e.g. more than 12 hours).

In a short-duration emergency closing following a fire, storm damage, etc.:

• Evacuate your building safely upon hearing the fire alarm
• Assemble with others at your building’s adjacent outdoor assembly area (or designated indoor assembly area in the event of inclement weather)
• Remain calm
• Try to locate your roommates, friends and neighbors
• Await instructions from emergency responders, campus security, residence life staff
• Return to your building only when told it is safe to do so

If overnight or other short-term accommodations are needed before you can return to your building:

• You are welcome to make arrangements to stay with friends, but please report such information to the Housing Services office or staff member
• Do not assume it will be possible to return to your room for clothing or other personal items
• Volunteers will be identified who can take students into their rooms for a night or two
• You may be relocated to vacant spaces in other residence halls, depending on availability
• If temporary shelter is needed for larger numbers of evacuated students, you may be directed to safety in locations such as the Peterborough Sports & Wellness Centre, Frost Field House, Sutherland campus, or Frost campus.
• Police, EMS, Residence life staff and other campus authorities will advise evacuated students of a timetable and procedures, if possible, for gaining brief access to their rooms to retrieve belongings, check on the status of their rooms, get changes of clothing and toiletries, etc.

If classes are suspended and the campus is closed because of an extreme emergency (e.g., illness outbreak, pandemic flu, extended power outage):

• You will be expected to activate the personal plan you made for emergency closing and leave the campus within 24-48 hours
• Expect to obtain regular reports and updates information at the Fleming College website, social media channels, and Housing Services app.
• On-campus dining services will be sharply curtailed, then stopped within a matter of a few days
• Pack and take all belongings from your room, if possible
• At a minimum, leave campus with all valuables (e.g., ID, cash, credit cards, driver’s license, bank statements, passport) and essential personal possessions you might need during the next several weeks (e.g., medications, clothing, books and class materials, laptop or computer) on the assumption you will not be permitted to return to your room for several weeks or months
• Remove all your personal property
• Take all trash, perishable food, and all unwanted items to an outside dumpster
• Close and lock doors and windows
• Return keys to your Housing Services office, if so instructed
• Be ready to leave a quickly as your ride arrives
• Stop any newspaper deliveries and forward your mail

If you are not able to fully vacate your room when an emergency closing of your residence hall is announced, at a minimum please assure that within 24-48 hours you:

• Take your valuables and other important property and any items you may need during the emergency closing; you will not have access to your room during the closing
• Dispose of perishable food and unplug your refrigerator, leaving its door open
• Remove trash, recyclables, and debris from your room
• Leave your bed clean and clear of all belongings
• Move all personal property off the floor and into your desk, dresser or closet shelves (in case of pipe break, flooding)
• Unplug all electrical appliances
• Close and lock doors and windows before you leave
• Return keys to your Housing Services office, if so instructed

In the aftermath of an emergency closing of residence halls:

• Keep informed about the College’s status and plans for reopening by bookmarking the College’s website and monitor social media channels
• Act on your financial contingency plans, including how you will respond to bills that are due, obtain pay that is owed to you by an employer, meet your living expenses, meet any special expenses associated with travel and relocation, etc.
• During an extreme emergency and at the direction of provincial or federal authorities, the College may provide temporary lodging for displaced individuals in campus buildings, including the residence halls. Given this potential, it is best that you remove all your property at the time you leave campus. The College can make no guarantees that belongings you leave behind can be relocated to storage.