Pinnacle students, faculty, and staff participate in the evacuation drill.

Several hundred students, faculty, and staff participated in each evacuation drill, which simulated the response to a fire. Campus emergency teams, the Environmental Health Safety and Insurance Department, and ACC Police helped run the drills; observers from other campuses learned from the scenario and provided assessment of the evacuations. The college did not utilize fire department personnel in order to conserve emergency resources.

“We planned these drills far in advance, but the current wildfire situation certainly reinforces the importance of emergency preparedness,” says Kristine Elderkin, ACC’s emergency management coordinator. “Through these drills, we found areas of strength as well as aspects where we can continue to improve – and that’s the whole purpose.”

The Pinnacle and South Austin campus drills took place September 6; Round Rock Campus underwent its drill September 8. ACC is gathering feedback from participants through online surveys and will hold other drills in the future.

The drills were part of the ACC’s Emergency Preparedness Week, during which the college also tested the ACC Emergency Alert notification system.