The University of Virginia has installed a variety of emergency phones on Grounds and in the nearby community, such as Wertland Street, to provide a reliable means for direct communication to UVA Police. In total, there are over 450 emergency phones outdoors, in parking garages, and within the city on/near Wertland Street, as well as over 70 indoors. All of thes phones are tested regularly for proper operations.
The Emergency Phones are connected via analog phone lines a,llowing continued use when voice over IP or cell phone calls fail. Some of the Emergency Phone Towers are also equipped with surveillance cameras to allow UVA Police Monitoring Center Staff to view the area around the person initiating a call using the button on the phone device. While talking to UVA Police on the phone, patrol officers are dispatched to respond to the location of the emergency call.
Types of Emergency Phones at UVA
Tower: A tower unit is a pole/pedestal with a blue light (as seen above). Some towers have cameras installed. There is a University Architect-approved tower with a color standard of Jefferson Blue with “EMERGENCY” lettering in white on the unit. A phone unit is installed in the tower and is equipped with a “RED” emergency call button only (with no keypad for dial-out elsewhere). These phones are configured to dial directly to the UVA Police Services Division.
Wall mount: These are typically installed in parking garages or in buildings. These units include a blue light and a phone unit with a “RED” emergency call button only (with no keypad to dial-out elsewhere).
A-Frame Emergency Phone: These metal A-Frames are equipped with a blue light and a phone unit with a “RED” emergency call button only (with no keypad to dial out elsewhere).
Red Phone Handsets: These are installed in interior hallways of buildings with poor cell phone coverage. To use them, a person picks up the handset, and the phone directly dials UVA Police.
Area of Refuge Phones: The Virginia Building Code requires two-way communication devices in elevator lobbies that do not have direct access to a ground floor exit. These units do not have a blue light but are the same phone unit placed in the Tower, Wall Mount, or A-Frame Emergency Phone or Red Phone handset placed in some buildings on Grounds. These units are equipped with a “RED” emergency call button only (with no keypad to dial out elsewhere)
Elevator: Elevators are equipped with phone units required by Elevator Code. These units only have a “RED” emergency call button (with no keypad for dial-out elsewhere).
Emergency Phone Status
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors are encouraged to report any issues they see with any emergency phone on Grounds. To report a problem with an emergency phone (blue light or red indoor phone) or to view the current phone status, contact us at [email protected]
Emergency Phones are deployed on Grounds and on Wertland Street as a reliable means for direct communication to the 24/7 UVA Police. There are 455 Emergency Phones. One hundred and eighty eight (188) phones are located outdoors, one hundred and eighty-one (181) or located in parking garages, seven (7) are located in the City on or near Wertland Street and seventy nine or located indoors All Emergency Phones are tested regularly for proper operation.
The Public Emergency Tower system can offer some reassurance to the University of Virginia community simply by knowing the system exists and that it is available in an emergency. The system is also a critical tool during a true emergency as it alerts police to the location of an emergency so that police and other emergency personnel can respond.
Quarterly, staff members from FM test all Emergency Phones. UVA Security Officers and Police Officers also test the phones when time permits in their patrol schedules. Anyone on Grounds is also able to report a problem with an Emergency Phone through Public Emergency Phone Dashboard. Either Facilities Maintenance or ITS takes the necessary corrective measures to repair the device or service. The monthly phone line costs associated with the analog phone lines are paid by the Department of Safety and Security.
The placement of emergency phones will be guided by law enforcement incidents, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design concepts, and placed in a manner to add to the continuity of the Lighted Pathway and E-Phone system at UVA. The identification of the commonly used lighted pathways connecting parking lots to buildings, public transit to buildings and building to building connectors constitute UVA’s E-Phone placement strategy.
The placement of new E-Phones for building construction projects, new parking spaces or user requests will be guided by the following criteria:
- E-Phones considered for pathways from public transportation to a building, building to building or from the parking lot to the building.
- E-Phones are not required if existing E-Phones are in the same pathways and are visible from public transportation to a building, building to building or from the parking lot to the building on the designed pathways provided from the building design.
- Existing E-Phone placement will be evaluated by this criterion during any renovation of an area or when a device has been reported out of service. If the device is deemed redundant then it is completely removed, and the E-Phone inventory adjusted.
- E-Phone Tower with CCTV and speakers placed in large gathering spaces or created “Green Spaces” on Grounds. This placement will augment UVA’s mass notification capacity and provide a local means to address large crowds. The camera will provide real time intelligence to formulate an appropriate level of response in any ongoing incident or as part of UVA’s video patrol.
The outdoor Emergency Phones are located on the Lighted Pathways and Emergency Phone Map maintained by the Geospatial Engineering Services Department of UVA Facilities Management.
View map here: Lighted Pathways and Emergency Phone Map
If a phone is found to be non-functional during testing, it will be repaired as an emergency work order. Non-functioning units will be placarded as “Out of Service” until the repair is complete. The status of the Emergency Phones can be found at the Public Emergency Phone Dashboard