2008 Woodie Awards
Emergency response refined
Jay Embry
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: On Campus
According to a newsletter published by the district titled the DCCCD Risk Forum, the District Safety Resource Council was created by the Crisis Management Committee and will address issues including emergency communications training, the promotion of a safe environment, and the recommendation of possible security upgrades.
The DSRC is comprised of representatives from all seven campuses and meets quarterly.
The council is led by Brigham Wilcoxson, who is also the editor of the Risk Forum.
"The safety of our students, teachers and guests are [the DCCCD's] primary concern," said the district's director of media relations Ann Hatch.
At the suggestion of the DSRC, a campus-wide computer warning system was put into effect. The system can send pop-up messages to every computer screen in the school in the event of an emergency. Recent severe weather provided successful testing for the system as it delivered the notification of two campus closings.
In February, the council began campaigning to label areas on campus which are safer during severe weather. Approximately 50 such areas are now marked throughout Eastfield.
Lt. Michael Horak of the Eastfield Police Department sits on the council as a representative of the school. Horak also leads the College Emergency Response Team.
According to Horak, CERT acts as the school's defense against the threat of violence or other campus emergencies.
Trained police officers from the Eastfield department, called the Diamond Team, have been instructed on proper ways to handle unique circumstances inherent to campus-wide danger.
"If someone pulls a gun up, they go down immediately," Horak said.
Aside from police, the district has also chosen to include employee volunteers, trained for 20 hours over five months, under the umbrella of CERT.
Each month of the training, different volunteers are required to complete a four-hour course focusing on different aspects of emergency preparedness. The topics include disaster preparation, fire suppression, simple triage medicine, light search/rescue and disaster psychology and organization.
The DSRC is comprised of representatives from all seven campuses and meets quarterly.
The council is led by Brigham Wilcoxson, who is also the editor of the Risk Forum.
"The safety of our students, teachers and guests are [the DCCCD's] primary concern," said the district's director of media relations Ann Hatch.
At the suggestion of the DSRC, a campus-wide computer warning system was put into effect. The system can send pop-up messages to every computer screen in the school in the event of an emergency. Recent severe weather provided successful testing for the system as it delivered the notification of two campus closings.
In February, the council began campaigning to label areas on campus which are safer during severe weather. Approximately 50 such areas are now marked throughout Eastfield.
Lt. Michael Horak of the Eastfield Police Department sits on the council as a representative of the school. Horak also leads the College Emergency Response Team.
According to Horak, CERT acts as the school's defense against the threat of violence or other campus emergencies.
Trained police officers from the Eastfield department, called the Diamond Team, have been instructed on proper ways to handle unique circumstances inherent to campus-wide danger.
"If someone pulls a gun up, they go down immediately," Horak said.
Aside from police, the district has also chosen to include employee volunteers, trained for 20 hours over five months, under the umbrella of CERT.
Each month of the training, different volunteers are required to complete a four-hour course focusing on different aspects of emergency preparedness. The topics include disaster preparation, fire suppression, simple triage medicine, light search/rescue and disaster psychology and organization.
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