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Building Generals

The Building Generals program is an integral part of the University's Crisis Management Plan. When fully operational, the program will provide direct information to the University in emergencies.

In each campus building, faculty and staff members have volunteered to serve as Building Generals. A Building General provides information to the other occupants of his or her building during an emergency. We will require their services in such incidents as violence against members of our community, fires, weather emergencies, power outages, natural disasters, and personal-health emergencies. This service will work in concert with other University notification plans, and will provide additional emergency information to the University.

The Building Generals program works this way. We have established three levels of crisis awareness. When an emergency arises, the office of Public Safety will notify the Building Generals in the immediate area of the emergency by e-mail, phone and cell phone, and provide them the information they need to share with their residents.

• A Level 1 emergency will require the Building Generals to go room to room in their buildings and tell the occupants to "Shelter in Place." Shelter in Place is similar to the term "Lock Down," currently used in elementary schools. Shelter in Place means that the occupants of the building stay in their rooms, shut and lock their doors, and remain away from doors and windows until notified that the immediate threat is over. We would use Shelter in Place in the event of a serious, life-threatening emergency such as an active shooter on campus.
• A Level 2 emergency will require the Building Generals to go room to room and begin an evacuation of the building. The office of Public Safety will provide the Building Generals with information about where the occupants should go.
• A Level 3 emergency will require the Building Generals to go room to room and inform the occupants of pending emergencies such as weather, power outages, etc.

As you can see, a Building General is a very important person in our emergency plan. During an emergency, we expect all occupants of our buildings to honor the requests and orders of the Building General. It is imperative that we simply follow their orders. Some buildings are not yet fully staffed, and some larger ones need more volunteers than we have. If you are interested in serving as a Building General, please contact Michael Young at mlyoung@wlu.edu. We will see if we can find a spot for you.