Building Marshals Work to Make Campus Safe

California State University, Fullerton
Public Affairs
800 N. State College Blvd. Fullerton, CA 92632
657-278-2414 Fax 657-278-5226
www.fullerton.edu/news/

from Dateline (October 9, 2003)

Building Marshals Work to Make Campus Safe
by Pamela McLaren

Whenever an alarm goes off on campus, various groups of people go into action. One such group, all volunteers, is the building marshals who don bright orange vests and assist with the safe evacuation of university buildings.

The building marshal program was begun about 1988, a year after the Whittier Narrows earthquake. Currently, there are 190 campus members who serve as building marshals.

One such volunteer is Janan Zonker, an analyst programmer in Faculty Affairs and Records. Zonker has worked on campus since 1989 and has served as a building marshal for nearly as many years. Because of this month’s evening evacuation drill (see story on Page 2) and the recent completion of a CSU audit of the campus’s emergency operations, Dateline asked for more information about the building marshal program and its importance to Cal State Fullerton.

Q:	What do you do as a building marshal?

A:	A building marshal’s primary task is to clear or help evacuate a building when there is an alarm. Each building has several building marshals who are assigned different floors, wings or departments. They sweep through their areas, make sure that everyone is out, as well as try to answer questions asked by people being vacated from the building. We also direct those evacuated to the location where they are supposed to wait until the all-clear sound.



Q:	What type of training and equipment do you have?

A:	Equipment is simple and basic: an orange vest, a pair of protective gloves and a flashlight. Lead building marshals have two-way radios in order to stay in contact with campus police.



Q:	How about training?

A:	Generally, once or twice a semester there is training offered on various equipment usage, such as extinguishers and evacuation chairs, and on other safety measures, including triage, first aid and CPR. [Such courses are offered regularly by Environmental Health and Instructional Safety and are open to all members of the campus community.] There’s lots of important information regarding general safety, courses and preparation for an emergency on two campus websites: http://ehs.fullerton.edu and http://www.fullerton.edu/ emergencypreparedness. Then there are regular building marshal meetings where we get together and discuss issues – like what to do when people refuse to leave a building. We also discuss when a drill is scheduled and how to assist persons with disabilities. We take every semester drill very seriously and meet afterwards to discuss what went right and what went wrong. Our aim is to make improvements so that things run smoother for the next drill or if a real emergency occurs. Colleen Wilkins, health and safety officer, and Quentin Frazier, emergency preparedness coordinator, have worked very hard to upgrade the position and responsibilities of the building marshals, and to get more equipment for us. In addition to our drills, there have been exercises held by the city, county and other agencies on campus and these have been educational for all of us. Should there ever be a disaster, we will be working closely with several public agencies to help not only campus and community members at the university but those who may come to campus for shelter and assistance.



Q:	Why did you decide to become a building marshal?

A:	I signed up when they needed someone for McCarthy Hall, and no one was volunteering. It fit in well with my position as department safety coordinator, and because I think it’s important that we have people in these positions so that we, as a campus, are prepared for emergency situations. It’s everyone’s job to lend a hand in being safe and helping out in an emergency, literally.



Q:	What gives you the most satisfaction?

A:	I’ve recruited many people to become building marshals within McCarthy Hall. I think it’s cool to be a “wearer of the orange vest.” If you are interested in becoming a building marshal, please call Colleen Wilkins at 278-4347.