Purdue to activate alert system, including all-hazards outdoor sirens, conduct evacuation drills during BGR

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University will conduct evacuation drills and test its all-hazards outdoor emergency warning sirens this week during Boiler Gold Rush, the orientation program for new students.

New students will be evacuated from Elliott Hall of Music during one of two sessions – at 11:30 a.m. Thursday (Aug. 18) and 11:30 a.m. Friday (Aug. 19.) The drills are to demonstrate the procedures associated with building evacuations, said Ron Wright, director of campus emergency preparedness and planning.

Additionally, Purdue ALERT, which includes the university's seven sirens placed strategically around campus, is scheduled to be activated at approximately 4:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 19), Wright said. The exercise will let new students know how the Purdue ALERT system works, what the sirens sound like, and what to do when the sirens are activated. BGR's student leaders are being trained so that they can instruct the new students immediately following the test on how they should react in a real emergency.

The Purdue ALERT test will be canceled in the event of inclement weather.

In an actual emergency, the sirens indicate a disaster or imminent threat involving the entire campus and/or surrounding community.

The sirens signal individuals to shelter in place, meaning to go to the lowest level of a building or to get to the nearest room and secure the doors, depending upon the situation. When possible, people on campus also should check the Campus Safety Status page, email and local media for more information on the emergency and the appropriate action to take, Wright said.

The sirens are part of Purdue Alert, a multilayered system to notify people on campus of an emergency. Other notifications include the use of mass email, mass text-messaging, Alertus beacons installed in large classrooms, desktop popup alerts on most classroom and lab computers, over 120 digital signs and Boiler TV.

To register to receive emergency text message notifications, go to http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue, click on "Change My Emergency Contact Number," enter your Purdue account name and password, and enter your cell phone number.

More information about the alert system can be found at the Purdue Emergency Preparedness website, http://www.purdue.edu/emergency_preparedness/ 

Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu 

Source: Ron Wright, 765-494-0446, rdwright@purdue.edu