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Emergency drill to raise awareness

An email was sent out recently to the Rollins community regarding an “Emergency Drill” session that will be held in February. The flyer in the email stated that this session will help raise emergency awareness through a discussion-based drill open to all.

The drill is entirely voluntary and discussion questions will be available to faculty and staff members to discuss scenarios with their students and staff once the drill is in place. All students will be aware of the drill and information will be sent to them regarding sheltering.

Safety and Emergency Planner Scott Rayburn stated that during the session, “Doors will NOT be locked or barricaded. There will be no evacuations during the drill. Local emergency responders will be aware of the drill, but will not be participating.

“This type of drill was developed by the University of California, Long Beach, and has proven to be very effective in disseminating emergency preparedness information. Following the drill, we will be soliciting feedback from all members of the community that took part in the drill. We anticipate that this feedback will serve to give us a view of our strengths and weaknesses, and provide us a roadmap for improving our services. The entire drill is being planned and executed using the Department of Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program guidelines.”

This discussion-based drill will be focusing on Shelter In Place, which identifies locations where students and other Rollins community members may go for safety in case of an emergency.

Rayburn explained that “During certain emergency situations (active threat/shooter, severe weather, chemical spills, etc.), directions may be given to ‘Shelter In Place.’ Directions to Shelter In Place may be sent using a variety of communication tools, including: the Rollins College RAVE Alert System, e-mail, text messages, bullhorn/loudspeaker, in person, campus phone system, or personal phones.”

There are various directions that must be followed once a Shelter In Place is announced.

“If you are directed to Shelter In Place: Stay inside of the building. Go into a building if you are outside. If you are in a room with a door, make sure the door is closed. Due to the varying age of campus buildings, locks may lock manually, remotely, or not at all.

“If applicable and time permits, lock and secure doors. If you are in room with a window, make sure the window is closed. Remain where you are until further direction is received from emergency response personnel,” instructed Rayburn.

The college has decided to host this event because of recent incidents nationally and overseas, and it feels that taking precaution is necessary.

“We hope to develop a higher level of preparedness in the campus community. This involves developing an awareness of what is currently happening in their environment—on and off campus—and how they might best react if confronted with an emergency situation,” stated Rayburn.
The drill will take place on February 10 at 10:15 a.m. and more information will be sent to the campus community.

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