April 6, 2004 :: No. 204

Campus Plans Emergency Awareness Activities

Emergency preparedness is the subject of various activities slated for April — Earthquake Preparedness Month — at Cal State Fullerton.

Lt. Will Glen, University Police operations commander, and Quentin Frazier, campus emergency preparedness coordinator, will discuss “The State of Campus Emergency Readiness” at noon Wednesday, April 21, in Portola Pavilion of the Titan Student Union.

A screening of “Academic Aftershocks” is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday, April 22. In the 45-minute video, emergency response professionals, faculty, staff and administrators discuss the Northridge earthquake’s effect on Cal State Northridge. Developed by the California Office of Emergency Services and Cal State Hayward, the video examines crucial issues on the campus in the hours, days and weeks following the disaster.

At noon April 22, members of the campus search and rescue team will demonstrate a high-level rescue from the southeast corner of the Nutwood Parking Structure in Parking Lot C.

“We believe that one of the most important tools we can provide our campus community is information,” says Glen. “These types of programs keep campus members aware of the ongoing efforts to be ready if we’re ever faced with a major emergency.”

Also this month, students, faculty and staff members will take part in one of the campus’s twice-a-year evacuation drills. The routine of practicing evacuations was instituted with the welfare of the campus community in mind.

“With more than 30,000 students on campus, as well as nearly 5,000 faculty and staff members, we want to make sure that we’re prepared in the case of any situation in which campus buildings must be safely and completely evacuated,” says Frazier.

The exercise will last about 20 minutes and will conclude with an all-clear message.

More information is available on campus emergency preparation on the emergency information website located at http://www.fullerton.edu/emergencypreparedness.