EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILL - PDF

							From: Tyrone Russell
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:15 PM
To: facstaff
Subject: Emergency Evacuation Drill
Today, 9/30/04, we conducted our first full-scale Emergency Evacuation Drill
since the completion of new building/renovation projects (including the
movement of some personnel to new locations). While there were many positive
aspects of the drill, it is obvious that we have some adjustments to make (some
with regard to old concerns and some due to needed adjustments to new
situations).


In order to allow for maximum in-put, we are hereby requesting any constructive
comments, observations, etc. that you may have regarding today's exercise
(cutting them out is not an option). This also should include any in-put that
students may have related to you. All in-put should be sent to this office (emails,
memos, notes, etc.) as soon as possible in order to be made a part of an After-
Action Report.


Thank you for your usual cooperation.


               EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILL
                  AFTER ACTION REPORT


On September 30, 2004, the College conducted its first full-scale Emergency Evacuation
Drill since the completion of construction of the new Community and Student Services
Building S and major renovations to Buildings A and B. While there were many positive
aspects of the drill, it was/is obvious that some adjustment were/are necessary.

ORGANIZATION
Prior to the conduct of the evacuation drill it was necessary to review the written
evacuation procedures and revise/update to include Building S and to accommodate the
renovations to Buildings A and B. Secondly, it was necessary to update the list of Rally
Point Captains and Co-Captains for each building. Finally, it was necessary to organize
the Evacuation Implementation Team (both Security and Physical Plant personnel) and
conduct a briefing as to the responsibilities of all members, i.e. Pull Stations, Building
Alert Runners, Rally Points.

A problem area that was identified with regard to organization was that all Evacuation
Team members were not on the same radio channel initially. This caused a slight delay
in beginning the evacuation drill.

ALARM/NOTIFICATION
All personnel (faculty, staff, students) are currently notified of an emergency evacuation
by the use of three (3) methods, i.e. fire alarm, intercom system (newly reinstalled) and
building runners. Accordingly, the drill was initiated by activating the Pull Boxes for fire
alarms in applicable buildings (assigned Team members), announcement over the
intercom system (Acting Chief of Security) and building alert runners to those buildings
without alarms (C,D,E,F,G & H).

Problem areas that were identified in this area include the following:

   a. Current alert system is somewhat cumbersome and inconsistent.
   b. Pull Box located by Room 1622, Building N did not activate, had to activate Pull
      Box by Room1634.
   c. No sound alarm for Buildings C,D,E,F,G, or H. Required the use of runners.
      This is time consuming and certain faculty members in closed offices were
      overlooked by runners.
   d. Occupants did not hear alarm in Building L, Rooms 1409 and 1410.
   e. Intercom either did not work or was barely audible in some applicable areas.


EVACUATION
A day prior to the evacuation drill, an e-mail was sent to all faculty and staff members
instructing them to review the portion of their Employee Handbook dealing with
emergency evacuation procedures including the location of designated Rally Points. For
the most part the evacuation of the buildings was accomplished, albeit slowly in certain
areas. During the course of the evacuation, the following problem areas were identified:

   a. No evacuation signs in buildings.
   b. Some rooms not evacuated, i.e. Rooms 118 and 119, Building C (occupied by
      visitors).
   c. Some evacuees did not go all the way to designated Rally Points but remained in
      parking lot.
   d. Some students were sitting in cars in front of Building A.
   e. All restrooms were not checked to insure all persons were out of buildings.
CONCLUSION OF DRILL
After the conclusion of the drill, a meeting was held with the Team members to briefly
exchange overall impressions of the entire exercise. The members were then instructed
to summarize their findings and submit for inclusion in an After Action Report. In
addition, an e-mail was sent to all faculty and staff members soliciting any
comments/recommendation, etc. with regard to the evacuation drill (a summary of the
comments submitted by faculty/staff members is included herewith as an attachment).

One (1) discrepancy was obvious with regard to the conclusion of the drill. There was
some confusion among the evacuees as to when the drill was over and/or when to return
to the buildings.

RECOMMENDATIONS
   A. A uniform primary emergency alert signal/mechanism should be devised that is
      easily and quickly recognizable in all buildings during actual and/or simulated
      emergency alert conditions. Secondary or back-up methods, e.g. runners,
      intercom, etc. should still be utilized as additional precautions.
   B. Written instructions for Evacuation Team members and Rally Point Captains/Co-
      Captains should be developed to ensure consistency and that all proper procedures
      are followed during emergency situations.
   C. All Pull Box Stations should be checked on a regular basis to insure functionality.
   D. The newly reinstalled Intercom System should be tested to ensure all applicable
      units are functional and audible.
   E. Evacuation route signs should be strategically and conspicuously placed in
      buildings where applicable.



Attachment

Evacuation Drill Comments

From: Tyrone Russell
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:15 PM
To: facstaff
Subject: Emergency Evacuation Drill
Today, 9/30/04, we conducted our first full-scale Emergency Evacuation Drill
since the completion of new building/renovation projects (including the
movement of some personnel to new locations). While there were many positive
aspects of the drill, it is obvious that we have some adjustments to make (some
with regard to old concerns and some due to needed adjustments to new
situations).


In order to allow for maximum in-put, we are hereby requesting any constructive
comments, observations, etc. that you may have regarding today's exercise
(cutting them out is not an option). This also should include any in-put that
students may have related to you. All in-put should be sent to this office (emails,
memos, notes, etc.) as soon as possible in order to be made a part of an After-
Action Report.


Thank you for your usual cooperation.




            EVACUATION DRILL COMMENTS
                    (Employees)

You must be lucky if you don’t hear the ear-splitting, I –am- sure- is- permanently –damaging- my
-hearing alarm.

Chris Walsh
Training and Development Director
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
3250 St. Matthews Road
Orangeburg, SC 29118
        -----Original Message-----
        From: Pete Goddard [mailto:goddardp@OCtech.edu]
        Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:29 PM
        To: Tyrone Russell
        Cc: facstaff
        Subject: Re: Emergency Evacuation Drill

        Dear Ty,
        We need a campus-wide, uniquely recognizable and much practiced
        alarm (sound). This would certainly speed up the evacuation process. Is
        cost a problem? One alarm, loud enough (I am thinking of the sirens in
        Britian during WWII) would do the job, provided we were familiar (and
        practiced) with its unique sound.
        (I am CC'ing this to "facstaff" in order to generate response)
        Thanks for listening.
        pete goddard



Hi, Ty, I was not on campus on the 30th to take part in the drill. I understand there was great
problems. I have to agree with Pete there has to be a real alarm system such as towns in the
mid-west have for emergencies… also blown at 12 noon in many still, you hear it all over town…
we have to hear it all over this campus no matter what is going on, classes, labs etc. Having just
been involved in a mock disaster I can tell you…. People have to be able to hear the alarms and
have to follow with procedures if in a real fire, etc. we want to save lives or reduce injuries etc.
Yvonne Dudderar




DUH!! I MEAN BUILDING C!!!!!! SORRY!!!

Lorrie Callison Watson, Esq.

From: Tyrone Russell
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2004 11:28 AM
To: Lorrie Watson
Subject: RE: Emergency Evacuation Drill

Don't understand your point. Alarm did go off in Building A.


From: Lorrie Watson
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2004 10:49 AM
To: Tyrone Russell
Subject: RE: Emergency Evacuation Drill

I certainly would feel safer if an alarm actually went off in Building A

Lorrie Callison Watson, Esq.
Paralegal Instructor
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
3250 St. Matthews Road
Orangeburg, SC 29118
(803) 535-1401
watsonl@octech.edu




Tyrone, something that I don’t know if you have thought of…..When it is actually
a “drill”, perhaps the last few minutes of class periods would be the best time. If
faculty are giving tests, sometimes the last fifteen minutes can be critical and if
they spend 10-15 minutes outside awaiting the end of a drill, by the time they get
back into that class, it is time to go to another class. I realize if it is an “actual”
fire, it obviously would not be at a convenient time, but when they are planned,
perhaps you could look at class schedules. Just an observation.
Thanks.

Sarah E. Tanner



Beverly had to let us know in our offices. Since we are in our offices usually with the email up,
what about sending an urgent email message to everyone? Beverly may not realize we are in
the office if the door is closed. We could also have a fire/problem after hours when staff is slim so
not everyone is aware of the possible danger.

Just an idea…Jean Danner



Good Morning,
We were located in room 1410 when we heard the announcement over the loud speaker. Is
there a designated place we should have taken our students? Shouldn't there be designated
areas and then key personnel to let faculty and students know when it is safe to return to their
respective offices or classrooms?
Thanks so much,
Rhonda Toole



Ty,
        I am in Room 1409 Building L and I never heard an alarm. I also could barely here you
over the loud speaker. I had no students in the room at the time so there was no “student noise”
that could have been blocking out either one.




I was in 403 and didn’t hear an alarm or an announcement. Another instructor came in and
informed us of the fire drill.
We never heard the alarm in 1410. We heard Ty over the loudspeaker system and evacuated the
students. Jeanne Gué


When the drill started, I looked around the classroom and there was no evacuation route. Is this
something I should have read—obviously I did not—but should there be some sort of map in the
classrooms? I was in RM119 at the time of the drill however I don’t remember any being in 506,
503, 507, 504. If I have been remiss then I will research the info. The intercom did work fine in
rm 119—the fire alarm did not.

Chic


Huh?

Well, I didn’t have to wait long, did I? What is unrecognizable about what we have?



Dear Ty,
We need a campus-wide, uniquely recognizable and much practiced alarm
(sound). This would certainly speed up the evacuation process. Is cost a
problem? One alarm, loud enough (I am thinking of the sirens in Britian during
WWII) would do the job, provided we were familiar (and practiced) with its unique
sound.
(I am CC'ing this to "facstaff" in order to generate response)
Thanks for listening.
pete Goddard



Ty:
One thing I noticed was students sitting in cars in front of A building. They never moved. One time
I think we had someone designated to tell them to move. I would have done it if it had been an
emergency, but didn’t do it just to see if anyone else knew to do so.

I never knew how folks knew it was ok to return to the buildings. Some folks in front of “S” started
moving back inside and others followed suit. We probably need to formalize that a little more.

I’ll be interested in comments you receive.




After Action (Fire Drill -9-30-04)
Building H,G,F           CAPTAIN    - Ron Wilson
                          CO-CAPTAIN - Jim Link


Buildings H,G,F were cleared very well. Students and Faculty exited as
instructed.
Building C room 119 visitors did not go to designated areas on grass.

Students and Faculty did not go all the way out of the parking lot. This
could
be a problem when Fire trucks enter. Fire hydrants are very close to
buildings.


Ron Wilson
Program Coordinator Engineering Graphics
wilsonr@octech.edu
803-535-1296