Landscape & Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Department of Security and Emergency Management, regularly monitors local conditions and takes preventative measures to mitigate fires in the natural areas of campus.

The 麻豆原创 team includes trained professionals who are well equipped and experienced in dealing with wildfires and who work closely with state fire and forestry officials.

In the event of an imminent or actual emergency, students and faculty and staff members will be updated via 麻豆原创 Alert. 麻豆原创 Alert contact information can be updated via my麻豆原创, and more information is available here: http://www.emergency.ucf.edu

As 麻豆原创 continues to take precautions, we encourage you to stay aware of local road conditions and to not take chances in the event a fire is impacting your area.

麻豆原创 Environmental Health & Safety also offers these practical fire safety tips:

To watch a video with more about 麻豆原创’s fire preparations, visit .

The 4th annual KNIGHTSHARE Expo will be held March 28-April 1 and will include educational and hands-on opportunities to prepare for emergency situations. Students, faculty and staff members, and the community are welcome to attend the training sessions and events.

On Wednesday, local, state and federal emergency responders will showcase their emergency vehicles and tools on Memory Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Highlights include a helicopter, a DUI simulator, K-9 demonstrations and much more.

麻豆原创 will conduct this semester鈥檚 testing of the 麻豆原创 Alert campus notification system on Thursday.

Special courses鈥攊ncluding CPR, women鈥檚 self-defense and storm spotter training– will be offered throughout the week. All classes are free unless otherwise designated. They include:

Call 407-882-7111 for questions or additional information.

KNIGHTSHARE is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Management in partnership with 麻豆原创 Police, 麻豆原创 Victim Services, Environmental Health and Safety and other partners.

The national Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association selected 麻豆原创 for its Complete Environmental Health and Safety Program Award, which is among the highest honors a university can obtain for its safety programs.

鈥淭he thing I鈥檇 like to highlight is the staff,鈥� said Tom Briggs, director of Environmental Health and Safety Department at 麻豆原创. 鈥淎s the Director I get to take the accolades, but the truth is I didn鈥檛 actually do much that contributed to this. I might set the direction and provide support, but the EHS staff at 麻豆原创 have developed and implemented programs that have succeeded beyond our expectations.鈥�

麻豆原创 bested 10 other universities for the top honor. Previous winners include Arizona State and Stanford universities.

The department鈥檚 mission is promote a culture of safety, health and environmental protection. It does so in collaboration with the university community in order to support education and research.

The department seeks to reduce injuries, accidents and environmental impact. It provides training to ensure 麻豆原创 is in compliance with all regulations and conducts comprehensive workplace evaluations to keep faculty, staff and students safe.

鈥淭he support provided by the university, both in policy development, funding and other resources was critical to what鈥檚 been accomplished,鈥� Briggs said.

鈥淲e think it is important to keep the smoke-free policy visible,鈥� said Samantha Spiers, president of the Student Health Advisory Committee, which is hosting the event for the third time. 鈥淭his is a fun event that allows students to show their support for a smoke-free campus.鈥�

The four students who collect the most cigarette trash will be awarded $50 gift cards to Barnes & Noble.

To participate, students should check-in at the smoke-free tent on the Student Union patio between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to pick up their supplies. Students return their collected trash to the tent so it can be measured for volume and then disposed of by Environmental Health and Safety. All participants will be given 麻豆原创 smoke-free T-shirts, and the four winners will be notified the next day for prize pickup.

The 麻豆原创 smoke-free policy went into effect in 2012. Since 麻豆原创 went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College have also joined the more than 1,500 universities and colleges in the nation with smoke-free or tobacco-free, policies in place. When 麻豆原创 made the change, all outdoor cigarette-butt receptacles on campus were removed. Mary Schmidt-Owens, assistant director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Medical and Health Administration, said that keeping the receptacles would have sent conflicting messages, so it was decided to remove all receptacles on campus.

Schmidt-Owens, co-chair of the 麻豆原创 smoke-free committee, said the campus Environmental Health and Safety staff reports that cigarette trash is down from before the policy went into effect. She said the health center continues to offer smoking-cessation support to all students, faculty and staff who are interested in quitting. To register, contact the center at 407-823-2701 or www.hs.ucf.edu.

The 2014 KNIGHTSHARE Expo will be held March 17-21 and will include training and events designed to help students, faculty, staff and the community prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

Local, state and federal emergency responders will answer questions and show off the vehicles and equipment they use to help keep the community safe. The equipment will be on display during a showcase on Memory Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Seminole County Sheriff鈥檚 Office will kick off the day by landing a helicopter on Memory Mall near the CFE Arena at 10:15 a.m.

Monday鈥檚 highlights will include a women鈥檚 self-defense class and training about the 麻豆原创 Alert mass-notification system and how to act smartly during emergencies.

Tuesday鈥檚 and Thursday鈥檚 classes will focus on first aid, fire safety, suicide awareness and prevention, and helping a student in a crisis.

A representative from the National Weather Service in Melbourne will lead storm-spotter workshops Friday at 麻豆原创鈥檚 Emergency Operations Center. Incident Command System training for emergency support faculty and staff also will be offered at the EOC throughout the week.

KNIGHTSHARE is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Management in partnership with 麻豆原创 Police, Victim Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Environmental Health and Safety, and other external agencies.

Visit www.ucf.edu/knightshare for more information about times and locations or to register for training courses.

鈥淟ast year, with the policy being so new, it made perfect sense to host the event while everyone was still adjusting to the smoke-free campus,鈥� said David DeWitt, president of SHAC. 鈥淏ut we wanted to do it again this year because we feel it still needs to be prominent and visible to everyone at 麻豆原创 that this is a smoke-free campus.鈥�

The four students collecting the most cigarette trash will be awarded $50 gift cards to Barnes & Noble. To participate, students should check in at the smoke-free tent on the Student Union patio after 10 a.m. to register and pick up supplies, and return the trash by 5 p.m. The trash will be recorded by volume and disposed of by Environmental Health and Safety. All participants will be given 麻豆原创 smoke-free T-shirts, and the winners will be notified the next day for prize pickup.

The voluntary smoke-free initiative, which went into effect August 2012, was put in place to encourage a more-healthy lifestyle. Since 麻豆原创 went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College also have joined the more than 1,182 universities and colleges in the nation with smoke-free or tobacco-free policies in place. When 麻豆原创 made the change, all ash trays on campus were removed.

Volunteers last year collected about 32 gallon bags of cigarette trash. 聽

For more information, contact Megan Pabian, coordinator of university relations in Health Services, megan.pabian@ucf.edu.