Evacuation drill tests high school's emergency plan
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Port Jervis
High School evacuates students during the Sept. 26
emergency response drill. The drill was designed to test
the school's emergency plan. |
Port Jervis High School, in cooperation with county
and local law enforcement agencies,
conducted an Emergency Response Drill Sept. 26.
Designed to test the school’s emergency
preparedness, the drill involved district
administrators, along with high school staff and
students.
While students and
staff were informed in advance about the drill, the actual
emergency scenario - a simulated hostage situation - was
kept secret to preserve an element of
surprise for participants and to add to the realism of the
event. Once the scenario began, the entire building was placed
in a lockdown as district and building administrators cooperated
with law enforcement agencies to test how the school's emergency
plan would work in response to a simulated threat of an armed
gunman in a classroom.
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A team from
the Orange County Sheriff's Department reenacts its participation
in the High School's emergency response drill.
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Following the
school's emergency operations procedures, all students were
safely evacuated from the building. The timing of the emergency
evacuation coincided with the district-wide half-day schedule.
Noting that the
drill was the first of its kind at the High School, Principal
Tony DiMarco says similar emergency exercises will be conducted
at the Route 209 complex, which includes Anna S. Kuhl Elementary
School, in the future. "In light of the tragedies that took
place at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech, safety needs
to be first and foremost in education. Unlike a decade or more
ago, when fire drills were the hallmark of school safety,
emergency drills like the one we conducted are needed to test
our emergency preparedness.”
He noted, "The drill is an important step that we needed to take
to make sure we are doing everything possible to provide an
environment where everyone - students and staff alike - feel
safe."
• View
Cable TV 6 news coverage of drill
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