No Cause for Alarm: BenU Conducting Emergency Preparedness Exercise

from Benedictine University

Neighbors and passers-by should not be alarmed by the number of emergency response vehicles that will descend on the Benedictine University campus on Thursday, March 22.

It’s only practice.

The campus will be engaged in a live emergency exercise from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 22. All campus activities will be impacted at this time.

Local emergency agencies will be responding. During the exercise, inbound and outbound traffic from College Road to campus will be restricted. Access to the Krasa Student Center parking lot will be available using the back access road from Maple Avenue. Staging for fire and police will begin at 9 a.m. in the Rice Center parking lot. Viewing areas for staff and students will be designated.

Entry to and exit from Birck and Kindlon Halls will be restricted to exercise participants only. Anyone who is on campus during this time is asked to stay in the building in which they are located.

Incidents like those at Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University, the University of Texas and recently at the University of Pittsburgh underscore the need for pre-planning and emergency readiness by campus emergency team members and local first responders, including police and fire personnel and area hospitals.

According to Campus Safety magazine, the faster that first responders can locate and access an emergency and then safely operate in a facility, the sooner the incident will be controlled and facility operations restored to normal. A pre-emergency plan can help academic institutions achieve this goal.

Police and fire personnel should also train with school officials to become familiar with the campus, the magazine said.

Benedictine University is committed to the safety of all faculty, staff, students and visitors to its Lisle, Naperville, Bellwood, Rockford and Springfield campuses. The Emergency Response and Recovery Team (ERRT) developed an Emergency Response and Recovery Plan with the sole purpose of preparing the University community for an emergency or disaster.