UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: County Police Call UCC-Cranford Bomb Scare a Hoax
Union County Bomb Squad and K-9 Unites swept all three UCC campuses in the wake of a bomb threat that was received Monday afternoon.
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All three campuses of Union County College, including the Cranford location on Springfield Avenue, were evacuated Monday afternoon following what proved a bomb threat was a hoax, according to Union County Police.
Police responded to Union County College following reports of a bomb threat that was received at about 3:15 p.m. Monday. Just after 4 p.m., fire alarms began to sound throughout the camus as students, staff and faculty were evacuated from all of the buildings on the campus.
Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska said law enforcement learned that the Cranford campus of UCC was the target of the bomb threat. Union County College has campuses in Cranford, Plainfield and Elizabeth. Classes at all three locations were cancelled for the remainder of the day.
"The college is closed immediately and classes will be cancelled for the duration of the day and evening," said Ellen Dotto, executive director of college relations for Union County College. "Fire alarms rang at all three campuses and students as well as staff evacuated the buildings on all three campuses. With the assistance of County and local law enforcement, the College’s Safety & Security team managed this situation to the letter of the College’s Emergency Response Plan."
According to Vaniska, county police had both the Bomb Squad and the K-9 Unit responding to the Springfield Avenue campus to search the premises.
"The campus in Cranford was swept with negative findings," Vaniska said. "So we're clearing from the site."
Detective Lt. James Wozniak of the Cranford Police Department said a unified command involving local, county and campus police was established with assistance from campus administrators. Sweeps of all of the buildings were conducted at the three UCC campuses.
"They're going to take their time and do it right to make sure the threat is unfounded," Wozniak said soon after the threat was received.
When police first responded to the sprawling Springfield Avenue campus, some officials at the college were still unaware of the threat.
Nicole Torella, the Manager of Publications and Communications at the school, was in her office Monday shortly after the threat was reported. They were not notified of the threat for several minutes after the call was received. At about 3:55 p.m., office workers at the campus were evacuated, but no alarms were sounded and no announcements were made over the school's public address system until just after 4 p.m. As police began at arrive at the campus, a few students skateboarded around the buildings, unaware of the situation.
A few students — who did not wish to be identified — were in the admissions office filling out forms for graduation when they were told to evacuate MacDonald Hall. Meanwhile, administrative workers left the building saying, "Well, short day...see you tomorrow," and laughing as they left the campus.
Jerome Bailey of Plainfield was with a group of other students who were preparing for graduation when the alarms sounded at 4:02 p.m., alerting the campus to the evacuation. The students, who all plan to attend NJIT following their commencement from UCC, said they still weren't entirely sure what was happening at the school.
"Everyone jokes around right now because we don't know what is going on," said Bailey, who will be studying architecture at NJIT. "I just hope that this isn't a real threat and that everything with be okay."
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Morpheus
4:17 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Anybody know anymore about this?
Alan Karmin
4:42 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
I arrived on the campus at 3:50 to find multiple police units standing around and chatting. There was nothing done to take the threat seriously...as students and personnel were not even evacuated until many minutes later...and then they evacuated employees first...and THEN students.
Morpheus
4:47 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Sounds about right.
E.Rod
4:48 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
WHO IN THE WORLD EVACUATES THE PROFESSORS BEFORE THE STUDENTS! SO MUCH FOR STUDENT SAFTEY.SMH
susanna
5:02 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Find it hard to believe that we were not notified immediately! Something should be done about that or someone should be fired. This is ridiculous!
Alan Karmin
5:02 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
All I know is...I saw a fire engine on Springfield Avenue...multiple police units...including the K-9 units...and everyone was just standing around. There did not seem like any concerted effort to evacuate people to safety. As a matter of fact...I was permitted to simply drive up and drop someone off on the campus. It almost looked like it was nothing more than a drill of some kind. They did not sound any alarms until quite a bit of time had passed. Just typical of the way things happen around that campus.
Judi V.
5:02 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Did anybody notice that this article references times such as 3:55 pm; 4:00 pm; and 4:02 pm yet this article was written at 3:50 pm? Is this article accurate?
Alan Karmin
5:04 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
It's accurate.
David Chmiel
5:30 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Judi V., it's accurate and updated in real time. As written in the story, it went from word of mouth in certain buildings to an all-campus alarm after 4 p.m.
Stan B
5:41 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Someone should look into whether or not UCC followed the law requiring immediate notification to the campus community and neighbors about emergencies. That requirement was included in federal law in the 1990s. Every college that receives federal funding has to comply with that law. It's part of the Higher Education Opportunities Act and referred to as the Jeanne Clery Act.
Toniann Antonelli
10:12 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Stan - officials at the school said they followed the college's Emergency Response Plan when the threat was received. Not sure what the plan stipulates, though.
Maris mcmenamin
5:55 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
I was teaching in the lessner building on the Elizabeth campus at about 4:30 when we were ordered to evacuate via pa announcement. Everyone thought it was a drill. Many of us including my students left our personal possessions and weren't allowed to retrieve them. The college did a terrible job managing and communicating this.
Toniann Antonelli
10:14 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Maris - so sorry to hear that, but I'm glad the threat was unfounded and everyone was safe.
Professor w. pondscum
8:02 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
4/2/2012 - The College is closed, all classes have been canceled. I received this text at 4:20 pm from the ucc alert system. Hmm. I love the way we alerted and evacuated in a timely manner.
Toniann Antonelli
10:20 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
How does one get included on that text alert list? Do you have to be a registered student/staff member?
richard jones
6:24 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Toniann, I believe if you go to the union county website and add /alerts when typing the web address, you will be able to sign up that way.
ucc
6:30 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
I'm a staff member and we were told that the practice drill was going to take place at 4pm, which we already knew because of the annoucements we received last week. While we were waiting to get clearance to go back in the building, security and maintaince told us we had to clear the campus, no one told us what was going on; we weren't allowed to go back in the building, luckily I work in an area close to the back entrance of the campus and those with offices near there were able to retreive their stuff in that manner. I'm thinking of filing a complaint because the situation was handled very unprofessionally, some of the students were saying that the police were there when they arrive for their 3pm classes. If it was truly a threat why wasn't anyone notified the hour before when the threat was made, unless something else happened and the bomb scare is a cover up, but they not going say.
Morpheus
10:33 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
If the threat was at 3:15, why didn't our alarms go off until 4? Even if it was a hoax, the students should of been evacuated immediantly. Does a bomb actually have to go off before people apply common sense?
Paula Mattis
1:24 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
I'm signed up for nixle reports directly to my cell. All I received on this day was traffic reports, nothing about this bomb scare. I live 3 blocks from the campus.
UCC-me
6:04 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
All Union County College Students, Faculty and Staff can sign up to receive notifications (via Text Message and/or Email) about Union County College weather related closings, as well as campus-wide emergency notifications at: www.ucfirstalert.org
The ucfirstalert service is a voluntary OPT-IN service. This means that while participation by the college community is recomended, it is not mandatory.
Paula Mattis
8:42 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
To UCC-me; What about residents who don't have access to E-mail or text messaging? Read above comment from Stan B. Can you address the federal law to which he is referring? We shouldn't have to sign up for a voluntary OPT-IN service if
it is a federal requirement to inform the campus community and neighbors.
Stan B
5:32 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Read this whole article: http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.php?Itemid=60&id=271&option=com_content&view=article
COOLJ
4:35 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
hmmm I believe Public Safety and their Management staff handled this situation very professionally.
COOLJ
4:44 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
bottom line the building needed to be evacuated and no one was injured or hurt that's the important thing.
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