November 02, 2012

Emergency lockdown drill set for November 14, participation required

The entire campus community will participate in an emergency drill on November 14. Sign up now to receive emergency alerts.

College administrators are organizing a drill to simulate a lockdown scenario on November 14, 2012, at 2 p.m.

The drill is designed to help students, faculty, and staff practice the steps they should take in case there is a dangerous campus intruder or violent situation, such as a campus shooter.

Faculty and staff, in particular, must be prepared to assist, much as Emergency Team Leaders (ETLs) do, since students naturally will look to them for guidance and assistance when a real emergency occurs. Both the Blackboard Connect Emergency Notification System (ENS) and the Carillon Campus Alert Speaker system will be used to inform the community of the onset of the drill.

If you have not already done so, please register your contact information with Blackboard Connect now.

ENS Registration Information

The campus-wide drill on November 14 will involve four steps. Everyone on campus must participate in the drill.

Step 1:  Drill starts with recorded voice, email, and text messages—followed by live voice messaging—alerting the campus.

The drill will start at 2 p.m. with ENS recorded messaging, stating that a lockdown drill is underway, and that community members should begin lockdown procedures. The message will be sent out via email and voicemail messages to all lclark.edu email addresses and campus phone numbers. Voice, email, and text messages will also be delivered to cell phones and personal email addresses of student, faculty, and staff who have registered with ENS. Additionally, there will be a live announcement using the Carillon Campus Alert Speaker system.

Step 2: Buildings will be locked down.

Emergency Team Leaders (ETLs) wearing fluorescent colored vests in every building on campus are tasked with locking down those exterior doors that require a key or the use of a lockdown device. All community members should, however, be aware of how the lockdown devices work, and if you are near an exterior door so equipped at the time of the drill, and you know how to operate the devices, please do so, securing those doors. Please review the instructional video on the Campus Safety website.

Campus Safety will immediately lock down the exterior doors of the residence halls and some other exterior academic area doors controlled by Lenel, the system that provides building access through college ID cards. Once those doors controlled by Lenel have been locked, persons attempting to gain entry with their ID cards will not be able to swipe in. To exercise best practices during this drill, please keep in mind that during a real emergency, choosing to unlock a door and allow entry to others may be hazardous to all inside.

Step 3: Individuals should seek shelter.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THOSE INSIDE: If you are already inside a campus building, in an interior room, lock the door if possible, or try to improvise a barricade if the door has no lock. Those in the hallways should proceed to the nearest interior room, preferably one with a telephone and door lock.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THOSE OUTSIDE: If you are outside a campus building in an unsecured area, take immediate cover. If you are able to access a building that can be secured, quickly make your way to that location while advising others to do the same.

Persons finding themselves in an unsecured location, who are unable to gain access to a secure area, need to take all necessary steps to ensure their own personal safety—either by fleeing the immediate area to a more secure location, or by remaining in place, under cover, until the immediate danger has passed, and then seeking a more secure location.

Every effort should be made to lock access doors and close windows and window coverings in your area without compromising personal safety.

Turn off the lights. Remain quiet. Silence cell phones and pagers, and turn off radios and other electronics that might alert an intruder to your presence.

Conceal yourself as much as possible. Crouch down in areas that are out of sight from doors and windows. Do not huddle together in case an intruder makes entry into your area. Try to stay calm and make a plan of action, including the possibility of confronting the intruder if you have no other options.

DO NOT sound the fire alarm. Should the fire alarm sound, do not evacuate the building unless one of the following scenarios applies:

  • You have firsthand knowledge that there is a fire in the building.
  • You have been advised by Campus Safety, police, or your ETL to evacuate.
  • There is imminent danger in your immediate area.

After gaining a place of safety during a real emergency, if you have relevant information about the intruder, you should call 911. Since this is only a drill, DO NOT call 911.

Wait for further instructions from Campus Safety, police, or your ETL. Do not open the door until they declare that the situation is clear.

Step 4: Take a moment to provide feedback so that we can evaluate our preparedness.

At the conclusion of the emergency drill, a survey questionnaire will be circulated to help us measure our progress in instilling community awareness around emergency procedures. As a thank you for completing the survey, you can enter to win a gift card redeemable at the Lewis & Clark bookstore.

Please provide feedback on our survey—AFTER THE DRILL ON NOVEMBER 14—on your ability to do the following:

  • Locate the campus website where you can sign up for ENS – Blackboard Connect.
  • Locate at least one site or publication where all L&C emergency procedures are displayed.
  • Secure the lockdown devices on many campus exterior doors.
  • Take the necessary basic steps if and when a lockdown is ordered.
  • Locate the Evacuation Assembly Area (EAA) for the area you are in, should you be ordered to leave what had been a place of safety.

Take the survey

For information on procedures to follow in other campus emergencies, please consult the Emergency Procedures booklet prominently displayed at many campus locations or visit the Campus Safety website.

Other questions or comments can be directed to Director of Campus Safety Tim O’Dwyer at odwyer@lclark.edu.