From the Interim Vice President for Management and Operations
Posted: Monday, March 10, 2025Test of Outdoor Alert Horn and Buff State Alert Notification
The Emergency Response Planning Group and University Police are planning to conduct a test of our emergency alert system, including the university’s outdoor emergency alert horn and Buff State Alert, within the next week.
During the test of the emergency alert horn, people who are outdoors during the test will hear a series of three loud 60-second horn blasts emanating from the central heating plant. Please note: The horn is primarily intended to be audible at outdoor locations on campus—not inside buildings.
In a real emergency, the horn would sound for a minimum of five full minutes. If a real emergency alert is signaled, immediately seek shelter and await further instructions communicated via Buff State Alert, e-mail, suny.buffalostate.edu/emergency, or direct instructions from University Police.
Approximately 30 minutes before the test horn sounds, the university will issue a campuswide test of the Buff State Alert emergency communication system. At this time, all students, faculty, and staff members who have registered with the service will be sent a test message.
Students, faculty, and staff members are strongly encouraged to enroll in Buff State Alert, or modify their preferences, by visiting the Buff State Alert website and logging in with their Buffalo State username and password. Those who do not have a Buffalo State username or password but want to receive text messages from Buff State Alert can sign up by texting the phrase “buffalostate” to 79516.
More information about the university’s comprehensive emergency response plan is available online. Faculty, staff, and students are also encouraged to bookmark suny.buffalostate.edu/emergency. This page will serve as a destination that chronicles (organized by date/time, newest at the top) all messages during an ongoing situation or emergency.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the test of the emergency alert system, please contact Buffalo State’s Emergency Manager, Tom Galluch.
