Fire drills alarmed students
Shelly Thomack
Issue date: 10/20/09 Section: News
The fire alarms that went off in academic buildings three weeks ago may have caused unnecessary anxiety for students, but were part of a new federal mandate passed last fall by Congress.
The Higher Education Reauthorization Act requires every academic building to have a fire drill once a year. Although it doesn't go into effect until 2010, universities were asked to give a good faith effort to comply as soon as they were able.
Hamline started their compliance during the week of Sept. 28. Thus far, drills have been performed in the GLC, Robbins Science Center and Old Main.
"I was excited to do this as soon as possible," Shirleen Hoffman, Director of Safety and Security said. "It is just one more step to improve security."
Hoffman also said the drills were announced through e-mail to faculty, staff and administrators. Flyers were posted on all exit doors of the buildings scheduled to have drills and Inside Hamline also included an announcement for students, she said.
She said these means of notification were the best they had, yet not all students knew about the drills, which made them more realistic. It's possible that subsequent drills could go unannounced for this reason, Hoffman said.
"It was like any other typical fire drill," sophomore Emily Richey said.
Richey said students were directed to the library by other students and she thought the whole process went smoothly.
Hoffman said to minimize disturbance of classes the fire drills were planned to go off shortly after classes ended.
"It is good for us to practice these skills [...] when a real fire happens and this could be life saving," Hoffman said.
There were fire drills in both academic and residential buildings on campus. Director of Residential Life, Javier Guttierez, said all residential fire alarms will be announced.
"We want students to know what is happening and what the drills sound like," Gutierriez said.
He said announcements for dorm fire drills will reach students via e-mail and evacuation processes and meeting spots will be discussed during floor meetings.
While there have already been drills in many campus buildings, more are yet to come.
"Safety and Security are working to have the next drills in the law school and East Hall," Hoffman said.
The guidelines, evacuation spots and a map are all on the Hamline website, in the Safety and Security section for students to reference.
Hoffman said that the fire inspector was very complimentary on how smoothly the fire drills went and said she hoped all fire drills in the future will be executed as well.
The Higher Education Reauthorization Act requires every academic building to have a fire drill once a year. Although it doesn't go into effect until 2010, universities were asked to give a good faith effort to comply as soon as they were able.
Hamline started their compliance during the week of Sept. 28. Thus far, drills have been performed in the GLC, Robbins Science Center and Old Main.
"I was excited to do this as soon as possible," Shirleen Hoffman, Director of Safety and Security said. "It is just one more step to improve security."
Hoffman also said the drills were announced through e-mail to faculty, staff and administrators. Flyers were posted on all exit doors of the buildings scheduled to have drills and Inside Hamline also included an announcement for students, she said.
She said these means of notification were the best they had, yet not all students knew about the drills, which made them more realistic. It's possible that subsequent drills could go unannounced for this reason, Hoffman said.
"It was like any other typical fire drill," sophomore Emily Richey said.
Richey said students were directed to the library by other students and she thought the whole process went smoothly.
Hoffman said to minimize disturbance of classes the fire drills were planned to go off shortly after classes ended.
"It is good for us to practice these skills [...] when a real fire happens and this could be life saving," Hoffman said.
There were fire drills in both academic and residential buildings on campus. Director of Residential Life, Javier Guttierez, said all residential fire alarms will be announced.
"We want students to know what is happening and what the drills sound like," Gutierriez said.
He said announcements for dorm fire drills will reach students via e-mail and evacuation processes and meeting spots will be discussed during floor meetings.
While there have already been drills in many campus buildings, more are yet to come.
"Safety and Security are working to have the next drills in the law school and East Hall," Hoffman said.
The guidelines, evacuation spots and a map are all on the Hamline website, in the Safety and Security section for students to reference.
Hoffman said that the fire inspector was very complimentary on how smoothly the fire drills went and said she hoped all fire drills in the future will be executed as well.
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