Alarms sounded Feb. 16 to notify students and faculty to clear classrooms as Cal State Long Beach Police conducted a campus-wide evacuation drill.
Students and faculty evacuated at 10:30 a.m. from every building on campus and went to their designated Evacuation Assembly Areas, known as rally points. There is a designated point for every building. The drill ended at approximately 10:50 a.m.
Alarms and lights went off in every building to announce the beginning of the drill. The BeachAlert Emergency Notification System sent emails, texts and voice messages about the drill as well. Students and faculty were advised to guarantee all contact information was up to date in their Student Center or Employee Center.
For students that were not on campus during the drill, BeachAlert Emergency notifications were still sent, but further action was not necessary.
Participation from students and faculty was required if they were on campus during the drill.
“It is state law that anytime the alarms are going off, even if it’s just a drill, you must evacuate the building. It is completely mandatory,” Allyson Joy, emergency manager, said.
Buildings were inspected by University Police and volunteer groups to confirm all classrooms and offices were clear.
State law requires annual evacuation drills to certify safe emergency protocols are in place. Alarms, lights, speakers and notification systems are tested to verify they are working. Evacuations are observed to ensure students and faculty leave buildings in a safe and timely manner.
Evacuations take place in emergencies, like fires, where buildings pose a serious threat to the safety of the public.
Joy said evacuation drills are not scheduled for Fridays, but this time it was. Scheduling was changed after feedback from faculty showed the drill was disruptive if it was conducted during busier school days.
She would have preferred if it had happen during busier school days because it would replicate a more realistic evacuation, but she’s curious to see how the change will go.
As students on campus practiced what to do during an evacuation drill, students off campus were encouraged to familiarize themselves with their own evacuation routes in case of an emergency.
“The best tip in that case is whatever area you find that you’re spending the most time in, have a really good idea of all the exit routes,” Joy said.