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Emergency Response

Shelter In Place

A Shelter in Place order could be used for a wide range of emergency scenarios where keeping our community members behind closed doors is the safest option. Examples of situations when this order may be appropriate include a weather-related emergency, hazardous material release, or an active safety threat occurring nearby. When a threat is deemed credible, Middlebury College will issue this order via our emergency notification system giving you the information they have at that time. Emergency notifications issued from the College are identified as “Midd Alert.”   

What to do when a Shelter in Place order is issued: 

  • Remain calm and follow the instructions given in the Midd Alert notification. 
  • When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps immediately.
  • If you are inside, stay there even if you do not normally work or reside in that building. 
  • If you are outside, immediately seek cover in the nearest building. Do not wait until you see or smell the hazard to seek shelter. 
  • For a threat involving a hazardous material such as a chemical release, close all exterior windows and doors and stay away from them to the extent possible. If possible, turn off the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. 
  • For an active threat, such as an armed intruder:
    • Close and lock all exterior doors and windows. Barricade doors, especially if the door cannot be locked.
    • Stay out of sight and remain quiet.
    • Turn off all lights and silence your cell phones, notifications on your phone could give away your location.
    • Do not turn off your phone as that will be the primary way in which the College will communicate with you. 
  • If there are visitors in the building, consider their safety by asking them to stay - not leave.
  • Do not leave until an “all clear” message is received through the Midd Alert system. 
  • If you are off campus, follow the directions of local authorities. Do not return to campus, or to the area under a shelter in place order, until an “all clear” message has been received. 
  • As with all emergencies, go to MiddAlert.net for updated information.