On Thursday, ACU received high marks from the city of Abilene after its participation in a mock disaster drill."ACU is always willing to be a team player to not only protect ACU, but also those residents in the surrounding area," said Jim Bryan, City of Abilene Emergency Operations manager. "These types of drills allow us to continue developing relationships that are vital when, and if disaster strikes."
In this scenario, which was based on a real disaster that occurred in Abilene two years ago, a tanker carrying hazardous materials derailed and a chlorine gas cloud was drifting towards the ACU campus.
ACU was immediately ordered to evacuate all buildings and transport those on campus to a safe location. Once the ACU Police Department (ACUPD) was notified, the ACU Crisis Response Team (CRT) was activated to implement the safe evacuation of approximately 5,400 people. The CRT is made up of administrators from across campus that play significant roles in planning for campus responses to crisis or disaster.
"Although I was advised of the drill on Wednesday, I did not give the team advance warning," said Jimmy Ellison, chief of police at ACU. "We wanted there to be that element of surprise and initial confusion to see how the team would react. I was very pleased with their ability to work under pressure and with the outcome, in general."
The drill did not include the physical evacuation of anyone, but the CRT responded to the continually changing scenarios orchestrated by Abilene Police Department. As the cloud drifted and wind direction changed, the team was faced with decisions to make about where to move the evacuees.
"We were able to communicate together with the new radio systems," said Bryan. "I think this was a homerun."
Ellison agreed. "One of the most successful aspects of the exercise was the seamless radio communications between the Emergency Operations Center downtown and ACUPD. The new radio system is part of the same system used by all local emergency service agencies. Again, the purchase of these radios demonstrates the commitment that the university has made to ensure the safety and well-being of the ACU community."
The exercise lasted approximately three hours.
"One of the goals of the CRT is to discuss and plan for different scenarios that might affect the ACU community," said Jim Holmans, executive assistant to the president and CRT coordinator. "Thursday's drill was similar to situations we have already analyzed. Being able to react in 'real time' with changing conditions added to the stress that would be present in a live situation. Planning and preparedness are always a work in progress, and drills such as this do a good job of exposing strengths, as well as weaknesses."
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