Purdue to activate the 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 – on Friday (Aug. 16). The drills are to demonstrate the procedures associated with building evacuations, said Jefferson Howells, director of campus emergency preparedness and planning.

Additionally, the university's seven sirens, placed strategically around campus, are scheduled to be activated at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 16), Howells said. The siren activation will let new students know 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 an emergency.

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, Howells 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, Twitter alerts, Alertus beacons installed in large classrooms, desktop popup alerts on classroom and lab computers, over 200 digital signs, and Boiler TV.

To register to receive emergency text message notifications, go to http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue, click on "Purdue Alert Sign-Up" 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: Jefferson Howells, 765-494-0446, jfhowells@purdue.edu