2008 Woodie Awards
Evacuation drills prepare campuses for emergency
Ricklyn Hukriede
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News
Long Beach City College conducted its annual evacuation drill at the PCC on Sept. 18 and at the LAC the following day, teachers and students evacuated designated classes and gathered at the quad flag poles, where they were greeted by police and school officials.
The California Code requires owners of buildings of specific occupancies, such as the LBCC campuses to conduct annual evacuation drills.
"I was told last week that this evacuation drill would take place today and even though it makes us feel like little kids the drill is a great reminder," said Julie Alvarez, a nursing major.
In the case of an emergency, students are encouraged to wait at the football and baseball fields until officials have inspected the campus buildings before returning to class. Evacuation procedures are posted by the buildings' exits.
"We were told today that we were doing this drill, but it's great because we are out of class for a little," said James Taylor, a student in the aviation program.
Mike Collins, director of risk services, said, "The point of the evacuation drills are to practice and prepare in the event of an emergency. Our skills need to be sharp." He added that, the more education that is provided to the faculty, staff and students, the better they are equipped to handle an emergency.
LBCC is in compliance with the National Incident Management Systems (N.I.M.S), which is a standardized set of protocols that all federal, state and local responders use to coordinate a response action. Using these procedures allows emergency teams and authorities to share a common language when responding to natural disasters or an act of terrorism, according to Collins.
Collins also said that President Eloy Oakley's has a number of concerns about students safety, so he took an initiative to educate staff and create alliances with equipment and supply companies to aide LBCC in a time of emergency.
"The fire drill went according to plan and everyone did what they were supposed to do. In my opinion it was a success," LBPD Officer K. Stinson said after the evacuation drill at the PCC.
LBCC is in their second year of a three-phase training process, which educates the staff how to use safety equipment where to direct students and how to inspect the building before letting students return.
The California Code requires owners of buildings of specific occupancies, such as the LBCC campuses to conduct annual evacuation drills.
"I was told last week that this evacuation drill would take place today and even though it makes us feel like little kids the drill is a great reminder," said Julie Alvarez, a nursing major.
In the case of an emergency, students are encouraged to wait at the football and baseball fields until officials have inspected the campus buildings before returning to class. Evacuation procedures are posted by the buildings' exits.
"We were told today that we were doing this drill, but it's great because we are out of class for a little," said James Taylor, a student in the aviation program.
Mike Collins, director of risk services, said, "The point of the evacuation drills are to practice and prepare in the event of an emergency. Our skills need to be sharp." He added that, the more education that is provided to the faculty, staff and students, the better they are equipped to handle an emergency.
LBCC is in compliance with the National Incident Management Systems (N.I.M.S), which is a standardized set of protocols that all federal, state and local responders use to coordinate a response action. Using these procedures allows emergency teams and authorities to share a common language when responding to natural disasters or an act of terrorism, according to Collins.
Collins also said that President Eloy Oakley's has a number of concerns about students safety, so he took an initiative to educate staff and create alliances with equipment and supply companies to aide LBCC in a time of emergency.
"The fire drill went according to plan and everyone did what they were supposed to do. In my opinion it was a success," LBPD Officer K. Stinson said after the evacuation drill at the PCC.
LBCC is in their second year of a three-phase training process, which educates the staff how to use safety equipment where to direct students and how to inspect the building before letting students return.
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