The practice drill with local and county officials was designed to help the university test its response to a campus emergency.
About 30 members of Elon’s disaster response team gathered in the designated campus Emergency Operations Center in Moseley Center, joining the following agencies in the drill: Elon University Police, Town of Elon Police, firefighters from the Town of Elon and the City of Burlington, the Alamance County Sheriff’s office, the Alamance County Emergency Operations Center, the Greensboro Fire Department and the regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.
As part of the exercise, the teams walked through response steps related to a plume of the toxic gas, testing their decisions about protecting the safety of those on campus and the surrounding neighborhoods. The simulation included actors with injuries, and required haz mat teams to don protective gear and control the leaking tank truck.
Elon regularly conducts disaster “table-top” drills and live situation drills to prepare for emergency situations of all types. The drills are intended to keep personnel up-to-date on their roles in the event of a disaster and to reveal any shortcomings in preparations for unpredictable situations.
Communication with the on- and off-campus community is critical in a disaster situation. All students, faculty, staff and parents are encouraged to sign up and stay connected to the key university communications channels, including the following:
E-Alert test message emergency alert system: www.elon.edu/e-web/bft/safety/e-alert.xhtml
E-Net website: www.elon.edu/e-net
Download the Elon LiveSafe app on your mobile phone