MAGNOLIA, Ark. — The first organized emergency drill utilizing an outdoor warning system, an emergency notifying phone system and coordinating county emergency responders with a University Emergency Response Team took place Tuesday evening on the Southern Arkansas University campus.
The drill has been being planned since July and involved a scenario where a threat followed by the explosion of a chlorine bomb near the National Guard Armory led to two mock student deaths and 22 mock injuries of various severities, according to University Police Chief Eric Plummer. The reason for the University to participate in the drill along with members of the office of the Columbia County Emergency Management, Magnolia Fire Department, Albemarle Hazmat Team, Columbia County Ambulance Service and the Columbia County Sheriff’s office is obvious, he said.
“This is the first time SAU has ever been involved in this type of a countywide drill but it is kind of a no-brainer that we conduct these types of drills because we have one of the largest concentrations of people and employees in Columbia County,” Plummer said.
The drill presented the opportunity for the University to test a campus wide outdoor warning system that informs students what to do in case of an emergency. Plummer said SAU is the only university he knows of that has the system besides the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Another system tested during the drill was the AlertXpress. This system is a reverse 911 of sorts which notifies a person of an emergency through a designated phone number a person gives upon registering for the system. Plummer said SAU students can sign up to participate in the system by signing up on the University’s Web site, http://police.southernarkansasuniversity.info/alertxpress/.
Dr. Donna Allen, vice president for Student Affairs, said she was satisfied with the results of the drill and views the exercise as an important and necessary one.
“I thought the drill was a great opportunity for all service providers and the University to test our preparedness for emergency events. I believe everyone did a great job and Chief Plummer coordinated the University Emergency Response Team very well,” Allen said. “I look forward to the opportunity to participate in additional drills in the future so we can continue to prepare in case of an emergency.”
Planning for large scale emergencies is something that has been on Plummer’s to-do list since being named University Police Chief in the spring of 2007. Two weeks after he began his post, the news of the shootings at Virginia Tech shocked the nation and caused planning for this kind of situation to be top of mind, he said.
Plummer said he appreciates the cooperation of everyone who took the time to be involved including the student volunteers from SAU’s Nursing Department who played the role of the victims in the drill.
