PULLMAN—The WSU Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy will conduct an evacuation drill on Monday, April 14, at 8:50 a.m.
The exercise is expected to last less than an hour overall although classes will return to the buildings as soon as possible. Passersby may notice faculty, staff and students in designated gathering areas and various people using handheld radios. College officials stress that this will only be a drill and should not be a cause for alarm.
Also participating in the exercise will be WSU Police and Fire Services as well as the WSU Office of Emergency Management. The emergency response vehicles will not be using sirens to prevent undue alarm on the part of the public.
The drill is part of enhanced campus-wide planning for disasters and emergency management. Each WSU college has been directed to develop and implement safety procedures for disaster and emergency management. The plans are both generalized and include provisions for several different scenarios.
WSU’s veterinary and pharmacy colleges have led the campus effort to develop more effective safety programs. The process has been ongoing for nearly three years and has involved several meetings as well as minor exercises to test radios and personnel response.
“It is well-known that effective planning and practice are what saves people’s lives in times of emergency,” explained Chris Tapfer, WSU’s emergency management coordinator. “Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, two professions that often deal with emergency situations in real life, have really taken this to heart and developed very effective plans.”
