MHCC looking to add new drill next year

Coming off this spring’s earthquake preparedness drill, MHCC is planning for an “active shooter/lockdown” drill in February.
On April 25, school staff and students participated in a brief “Duck, Cover and Hold” drill on the main Gresham campus. The other practice drill normally held each autumn on the Gresham campus is a fire evacuation drill.
Karen Reynolds, MHCC environmental health and safety manager, said the drills are “very important. The foundations of our success are the emergency coordinators and the individual instructors.”
She said each department has responsibility for its offices and classrooms. The drill protocol is to clear the immediate area, gather in a safe place to maintain order and wait to receive the all-clear signal.
It’s been a long time since a significant earthquake had an impact in this area, the most recent occurring on Feb. 28, 2001. That was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter of 11 miles northeast of Olympia, Wash., felt across much of the Portland metro area.
Reynolds said she tries to stage the drills at different times on the separate MHCC campuses to avoid drilling the same staff and students.
“One of our biggest problems is incoming (vehicle) traffic,” Reynolds said. “We don’t stop traffic.” To avoid blockages and traffic backups on and around the campus, staff members step outside to direct traffic through the campus parking lots.
Given the obstacles that face a large campus evacuation, Reynolds said MHCC is constantly seeking improvement. She said the college has been very proficient in its drills: “Kudos to the college. To be able to get 10,000 people evacuated in eight minutes is good.”
Campus safety leaders hope for similar success and compliance when they introduce a new drill, related to an active shooter or a school-wide lockdown in response to a dangerous situation.
While such a security drill been in the works for a while, recent events have made its planning and launch more urgent, Reynolds said. Asked what staff response has been so far, she said, “I would hope they understand the importance of the drill.”
Reynolds said the next scheduled drill will come in the fall. To help execute the drills efficiently, she asks that students and staff pay attention to notices around campus for upcoming evacuations, drills or procedures.