Emergency Information

Campus phones (tan) require the caller to dial 911 for police, or 5911 for Public Safety. They may also be used for non-emergency inter-campus calls by simply dialing the college extension.

Both the red phones and the campus phones are located in easily accessible hallway and common areas of all buildings. Please familiarize yourself with the phone locations in buildings and dormitories that you frequent in case you need emergency assistance.

Parking lots that are primarily used by students have emergency phones that can also be used to make calls to campus extensions. These phones can be recognized as they are on black pedestals with blue globes on top. At night the blue light on the emergency phone is illuminated. These phones have no receiver, but have a keypad and speaker system. For emergencies, press the Red button and the call will ring directly to the Department of Public Safety.

To operate as a college phone push the black button for a dial tone and dial the number. You may also dial x5911 or "0" to be connected to the Department of Public Safety. These phones may also be used to make non-emergency calls, for example, to contact Midd Rides call RIDE (x7433) for an escort back to a residence hall. Push the black button again to end the call or stop the dial tone.

Emergency phones are located in the main student parking lots: C Lot (FIC); D Lot (Atwater A and B Halls), E Lot (Johnson), Q Lot (Mahaney Center for the Arts), R Lot (Ridgeline), T Lot (Field House/Kenyon), the Track Lot (at the corner of Porter Field Road and South Street), the Kirk Alumni Parking Lot, K lot (Robert A. Jones) and in S Lot (McCardell Bicentennial Hall). There are also emergency phones on the walkway near Bicentennial Hall and Freeman International Center, and on the walkway between DKE and the Axinn Center. There is a phone installed near Twilight Hall.

All residence halls with the card access control system have hall entrance phones as part of the system. These emergency phones are available at the main entrances to residence halls, near the card readers. These phones are the same phone found in the parking lots. Each phone has an emergency button, but also has a black call button that can make calls to College extensions.

The Middlebury College Department of Public Safety will notify the College community concerning any incident or crime that poses an immediate threat to the community’s safety and welfare by use of AlertFind. Notification made via AlertFind is by SIMS, e-mail and campus phones. Notification of other urgent or important incidents and crimes may be made via e-mail to all campus e-mail address and posted as necessary.

The Middlebury College Department of Public Safety (DPS) encourages you to report emergencies and suspected crimes as promptly and accurately as possible. If you need to report a crime in progress or other emergency you should dial 911. Please be prepared to provide the dispatcher with your name, a description of the type of emergency and the location of the emergency. Please dial 911 only in an emergency, which means you are in need of immediate police, fire or medical response. All 911 calls from campus telephones automatically dial a Vermont State Police emergency dispatcher. Both the State Police and DPS receive immediate information indicating the address where the call initiated. While the caller is speaking to the Vermont State Police dispatcher, DPS is dispatching an officer to the location.

If you mistakenly dial 911, please do not hang up, since all calls are captured. Stay on the line and talk to the 911 dispatcher before you disconnect. In the event of a hang-up, emergency service personnel will attempt to call you back, or if there is no answer, will send someone to the location you called from.

To contact the Middlebury College DPS directly use a red emergency phone, dial x5911 from any campus phone or (802) 443-5911 from an off campus phone.

Suspicious activity indicating a crime is in progress may include the following:

• A scream or call for help

• The sound of a whistle or loud horn

• A strange car repeatedly driving down the street

• Seeing someone you don’t know or recognize enter your neighbor’s room or home, enter an office or lab with no apparent business or transaction, or loiter in a parking area or at a bike rack near your home, dorm or work.

Remember, public safety officers cannot be everywhere at once, and they depend on individuals in the community to assist them in crime prevention by reporting suspicious activities. Many times crime solving depends on how accurately and promptly the incident is reported. It is important that you be able to provide as much of the following information as possible:

1. Nature of the incident

2. When the incident occurred

3. Where the incident occurred

4. Individuals involved (including names and descriptive information)

5. Direction and method of travel

6. Vehicles involved (including descriptive information)