New safety drills to be implemented
By Paul Johnson
IV Leader Staff
During the next few months, Illinois Valley Community College
will be having several safety drills to prepare students for potential
environmental disasters.
"When the weather breaks, we will have a fire drill that will
be campus wide, all the fire alarms will go off," said Ken Sangston, director of
safety services.
"All the buildings will be cleared and the main staging area
will be the girl's softball field." The girl's softball diamond is located east
of the Cultural Center.
There will be more than one safety drill this semester.
"We will also have a tornado drill . . . it will correspond
with about the first of March [in conjunction] with the state of Illinois,”
Sangston said.
For the tornado drill the students will assemble in the IVCC
basement and the tunnel areas.
Adam Holmberg, an employee in the IV bookstore, was at IVCC
the evening that a tornado struck the Illinois Valley last year and believes
that, "we have a need for theses kinds of drills."
Holmberg added, "We need to remind ourselves to be prepared
for these sorts of disasters."
During the next few months Sangston is asking for the help of
the IV student body as these drills are conducted.
"We are asking for the cooperation of the students and all
faculty members because it is going to affect all of us."
Sangston stresses that public safety is not a one-time event.
"It is not for just one semester but for all year around."
Because of this fact, IVCC continues to invest in protecting
the student body.
"The Board of Trustees has invested hundreds of thousands of
dollars into our new fire alarm system," explained Sangston.
This system has been installed throughout all the campus
buildings and is connected to the main control panel in the Safety Services
office.
The school is also updated with the latest information about
tornado hazards.
"The alarm system also takes in tornado warnings system from
Oglesby Police Department," said Sangston.
With the drills coming up, Sangston asks the student body to
keep two things in mind.
"For a fire we evacuate the building . . . on a tornado you
stay in the building and use the tunnel areas," he said.
During these drills, students and faculty will be directed to
the proper staging area.
Sangston also reminds students that "we will be posting
evacuation routes on the bulletin boards and other buildings around the
college."
These will be updated to reflect the construction changes
that have occurred at IVCC.
Sangston has been director of safety services at IV for the
past 14 years. He describes the disaster drills as an outgrowth of his concern
for the general safety of all IVCC students.
Sangston reminds students that it is important for them to
remain calm in the event of any disaster and offers this advice on remaining
safe at all times.
He said: "Personal safety is like driving a car: you need to
be observant and you need to look for an alternate route."