By Madoussou Kone
When a student is accosted by a fire or any other serious issue that can require medical or professional assistance, it’s obvious what comes to mind—there’s no time to be prepared, all there is to do is to be guided to safety. Emotions, heart rate, and a sense of urgency rose on Jan. 31 when a fire alarm went off at 4:28 p.m. Students and professors at York College saw a blinking light in their classrooms followed by text messages instructing everyone to evacuate through the nearest exit.
“It was a flashing white light and it did not last very long, maybe less than a minute. So, how is everyone else supposed to evacuate?” said Marifer Tejada, an Occupational Therapy major. ”While we were leaving the building, there were people in the library sitting down because they thought we didn’t have to leave. A girl in my class signaled for them to come down. In total we probably lost 15 to 20 minutes of lecture time so not too bad, it was just very disorganized.”
As tensions eased and students were allowed back inside, they could think more objectively at the situation at hand. “I was very concerned about the fire alarm going off two times because I just don’t know why it would go off two times,” said Shariful Sirajee, a Sociology major. “Even the professors and students in my class were also concerned about the fire alarm going off.”
A few weeks later the campus was evacuated again after officials were alerted to a bomb threat.
After these events, reporters approached Public Safety Director James Assmann about his plans to guide the next emergency and give us an insight of what happened that day.
The following are his written replies to inquiries by Pandora’s Box:
“Reflecting on the last emergency on February 22, our campus-wide survey provided critical feedback on our evacuation process. The majority of respondents, 68.18 percent, indicated that they were able to evacuate in less than 5 minutes, demonstrating the effectiveness of our procedures. However, the survey also highlighted the need for clearer instructions and faster communication, areas we’re committed to improving.”
He added that his team has identified some areas of the campus without strong phone service and areas that may have limited ability to hear an emergency message or alarm. One example was the music studio lab on the lower level of the Academic Core building, where students couldn’t hear the alarm from the door. The music labs are soundproof and public safety officers had to enter and get their attention to evacuate.
With that in mind the public safety committee has been adjusting policies and procedures to tackle these issues and improve campus safety. They are currently improving the messaging system and are strengthening their collaboration with the IT department to ensure effective message delivery procedures. Additionally, so far they have made emergency message templates easily accessible for students and faculty.
“Our Public Safety team has conducted staff and student-facing discussions and training over the past two years, including Stop the Bleed and active shooter preparedness training,” said Assman. “We also provide faculty and staff office-specific safety awareness training. We plan to increase the frequency of these educational sessions and advertise them more broadly, aiming to empower our community with the knowledge and skills to stay safe. In addition, we have applied for and have been awarded a grant for free bleeding control equipment such as tourniquets, which will soon be placed in key areas of the campus. We anticipate that the Stop The Bleed organization will have these in place on our campus by Summer 2024.”
What are some plans to help navigate fire evacuations, bomb threats, or future actions that cause danger to students and faculty?
“York College has implemented a comprehensive approach to improve our preparedness. A key part of this plan involves working with information technology to use our existing phone system as a public address. The program, called Informacast, enables us to quickly communicate with live and pre-recorded messages across campus during emergencies using office and hallway phones. This, in conjunction with our York College mass notification system and CUNY alert, we are confident that we can make evacuations, lockdowns, and other emergency responses more efficient. Additionally, we are focused on enhancing our team’s capabilities through training in new and existing protocols. This includes familiarizing ourselves with new systems and conducting emergency drills to ensure an effective response. Furthermore, we are in the process of implementing new camera technology to enhance our campus security infrastructure. We are also collaborating with our facilities team to upgrade our fire system, which involves implementing a campus-wide Public Address system.”
Are there Fire wardens for campus and do they still remain on campus?
“Yes, however, after COVID, many have not returned. Therefore, the development of an updated Fire Warden program is actively underway. This initiative aims to engage staff and students, particularly those in leadership roles or with a strong interest in contributing to our safety culture. Fire Wardens will be equipped with the necessary tools, including vests, to assist in emergency drills and actual evacuations. Once buildings are evacuated, fire wardens usually stand by on the outside, away from danger, or assist Public Safety with campus members who may have special needs. We’re finalizing the program’s details and, following administrative approval, will initiate the recruitment and training process. We aim to have a Fire Warden recruitment message out by May 2024.”
