Here at Ohio University, we have recently completed our quarterly fire
drills at the 40 residence halls on our campus. In the past the RD's and
RA's have had organized fire drills at the beginning of each quarter for
their own buildings. The drills are to take place between the hours of 7:00
pm and 11:00 pm Monday through Friday and to be completed within the first
two weeks of each quarter. I would then receive a copy of each report from
the RDs but, in reviewing these reports, found questionable items, students
slow to leave, no students in building, ect. The Fire Protection Engineer
and myself then decided to conduct the spring quarter drills ourselves to
get a true representation of what was occurring during these drills. We
first contacted our Residence Life Director to obtain a list of the RD's
with small children (we would ask them to leave the building prior to
activating the fire alarm). Upon arriving unannounced at each building,
calls were placed to our Campus Police Dept., 911 dispatch and contact was
made to only one of the hall's staff. That staff member would be requested
to not participate in the drill, but asked to help time the building
evacuation. We would start timing the drill with the fire alarm system
activation and stop timing when the last residence exited the building (this
was possible with the use of two way radios). Other items that were noted
are the staff's time to check all rooms, how many calls placed to 911, doors
propped open, and  the location of students after exiting building.  At the
end of each drill the students were thanked for their participation,
evacuation time was announced, and suggestions were made on possible
improvements. We are glad that we took the added time necessary to be
present for all of these drills, this was a learning experience for all
involved.

David L. Smith
Fire Safety Officer
Environmental Health and Safety
212 Hudson Health Center
Athens OH 45701-2979
tel (740) 593-1665
fax (740) 593-0808
e-mail [log in to unmask]