Lc Improves Fire-Drill Response Time

Since moving to its new home, Lewis and Clark High School has been chipping away at a too-long evacuation time on its first fire drill. By its third try, the time had improved considerably, officials said.

School officials have drilled repeatedly at the Holley-Mason Building to make sure plans to evacuate will work in a real emergency.

Renovation to the historic LC building precipitated the move to the five-story Holley-Mason Building, 157 S. Howard. A different building requires a different evacuation plan, and students have drilled three times since school started Sept. 2. There have also been two other drills - a crisis drill where classes are locked down with students in them, and an evacuation drill last Friday.

The first fire drill was held the first day of school, and students took about 7-1/2 minutes to get out of the building, said Joe Madsen, district safety and risk-management coordinator.

Students said congestion in the narrow hallways and stairways caused a bottleneck that left them standing still for minutes at a time.

Since then, the school has refined the plan and, during the latest drill - held Sept. 7 - students were out of the building in 5 minutes and 20 seconds, according to Principal Mike Howson.

“That was 40 seconds better than I’d hoped,” he said.

One challenge the multistory school poses is getting handicapped students from upper-floors down to safety.

LC’s plan, and district policy, is that instead of evacuating with the other students, handicapped students move to specially designated rooms where firefighters can remove them through the window via ladder, Madsen said.

A placard would be placed in the window to alert firefighters to the students’ locations.

“That’s better than trying to get somebody down four flights of stairs during an emergency,” Madsen said.

Classroom doors are rated to withstand fire for 20 to 60 minutes, more than enough time for firefighters to get people out safely, Madsen said.

The city Fire Department has given the evacuation plan its “stamp of approval,” said city Fire Marshal Garry Miller.

“We feel pretty comfortable with that building right now,” he said.

The sprinkler and alarm systems are new and up to code, and firefighters have gone through the building to familiarize themselves with the layout.

“We’re pretty pleased with what the school has done,” he said.