Program overview
The Building Warden program was established to coordinate the emergency preparedness and planning efforts among all South Dakota State University buildings.
Many campus buildings are occupied by multiple departments, making building-wide communications and coordination difficult during normal operations, let alone during an emergency. The Building Warden program serves to assist building occupants, first responders, and Emergency Management by developing a common building-specific plan of action for life safety emergencies and developing a common, building-wide plan of action for emergencies that threaten life safety.
Building Wardens serve as an extension of Emergency Management in the preparedness, response and recovery phases of an emergency. They not only add value to the building community by serving in this position, but also to the overall university planning.
Building Warden roles and responsibilities
Building Wardens work with Emergency Management to disseminate pertinent emergency preparedness information and plans throughout their building. In addition, they provide emergency responders with a single, knowledgeable point of contact who can assist in contacting appropriate departmental personnel and officials in case of an emergency.
Ideally a building wardens should plan on serving a term of no less than a year with no limit to the number of consecutive terms. Building Wardens are expected to provide multiple forms of contact, including methods reachable outside of normal business hours. The Area or Floor Wardens should fulfill a similar role.
If applicable, building wardens also facilitate emergency preparedness in their building by coordinating a safety committee.
For information on South Dakota State's Building Warden Program, contact SDSU Emergency Management Specialist at 605-688-4251 or sdsu.emergencymanagment@sdstate.edu.
For additional information about using the Building Emergency Plan portal on InsideState, please see our instruction guide.