{"id":197171,"date":"2026-04-09T12:32:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=197171"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:32:25","slug":"iedereen-een-ontruimer-wat-wordt-nu-verwacht-van-medewerkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/09\/iedereen-een-ontruimer-wat-wordt-nu-verwacht-van-medewerkers\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Everyone is an evacuator\u2019, what is now expected of staff?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All staff can help coordinate an evacuation in an emergency, that was the message everyone received at the start of this academic year. It’s still a pilot, but the plan raised questions in the University Council, because what exactly is expected of people?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBut I don\u2019t know what to do at all, do I?\u201d Tutor Myrthe Fransen sat on her knees next to a first aid dummy. \u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019re here, isn\u2019t it?\u201d, instructor Edwin van Pelt replied. In room Langeveld 4.16, eighteen staff members attended the workshop \u2018what to do in an emergency\u2019. \u201cBelieve me: in an hour that will be completely different. And the nice thing is: this dummy has never breathed, so we can practise perfectly on it\u201d, said Van Pelt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step one is to check whether you yourself are safe. Fransen looked around the lecture hall to check. She was safe. Step two is to elicit a response. \u201cIn the past we applied a pain stimulus\u201d, said Van Pelt. \u201cBut really, if we start resuscitating like this and compress the chest 5 to 6 centimetres, that is painful enough. We\u2019re not going to waste time now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you actually do in the event of an emergency on campus? That\u2019s what this workshop was all about. What if someone collapses, who do you call? And how do you evacuate from your office floor? Because in September, a pilot has started: \u2018Everyone is an evacuator\u2019. That\u2019s not the same as \u2018everyone is a emergency response officer\u2019, emphasises coordinator Emma van Amstel. The message that all staff received at the start of this academic year \u2013 \u2018everyone is an evacuator\u2019 \u2013 didn\u2019t immediately make this clear to everyone. Because what exactly is expected of staff now?<\/p>\n\n\n\t

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What to do in an emergency?<\/strong>
\u201cIf you see something happen, always first call the EUR emergency number 010 408 1100\u201d, says Van Amstel. \u201cSecurity can call in the emergency response officers and can meet an ambulance at one of the many entrances to the campus. Then call 112 if necessary. They will stay on the line to help you.\u201d The EUR emergency number is on the back of your staff card. More information can be found on this page on MyEUR.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Evacuator, not an emergency response officer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an emergency there is no time to lose and all support is welcome, that is the idea behind the pilot. Where each floor of every building previously had a designated evacuator, this is no longer feasible with the increase in hybrid working. Anyone can now take a yellow evacuator vest and act as an evacuator in an emergency. \u201cAs an evacuator you check whether everyone has left your floor\u201d, states the description on MyEUR<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy predecessor came up with this idea\u201d, says Van Amstel. She has been involved in emergency response for two years and has been coordinator since November. \u201cMy predecessor rightly noted that many staff have no idea what to do in an emergency. This pilot is intended to encourage people to look into it. For example, do you know where the emergency exits are? Because lifts do not work during a fire. No one is obliged to put on the vest. Do you know that you panic in such situations? Then please don\u2019t do it. It is really for support, and the emergency response team will still check a department.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Actual emergency response officers follow annual training and are called out when incidents occur on campus, such as a student fainting. They wear red or orange vests. \u201cBut together we make the campus safer\u201d, says Van Amstel. \u201cSo in an evacuation it is up to everyone to get outside calmly and safely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That \u2018Everyone is an evacuator\u2019 is intended to be so limited was not immediately clear to everyone, Van Amstel noticed when she explained the pilot to departments. Staff feel put under pressure by it, but after the explanation they are mostly reassured, says Van Amstel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University Council had similar concerns, because what exactly was expected of staff? \u201cThe pilot was not discussed with the Executive Board or the participation bodies\u201d, says council member Sebastiaan Kamp. \u201cAt the start of this academic year, several related issues were also raising questions for us. We were told that it was often the same emergency response officers who showed up to incidents, so we wondered: are there enough emergency response officers? Inspections had previously shown that fire safety was not at the desired level<\/a>. And around that same time all staff were asked to help with evacuations.\u201d Although \u2018Everyone an evacuator\u2019 and the report on fire safety reached the University Council at the same time, there is no link between the two. The shortcomings in fire safety were addressed and the University Council sees that work is still ongoing. Due to the handover from the previous to the new emergency response coordinator, the other question remained unanswered for a short while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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