September is Safety Month: Why Your Campus Fire Evacuation Drill Matters

As we settle into a new academic year, September provides an important reminder that safety is everyone’s responsibility. The month is recognized nationally as Campus Safety Awareness Month and National Preparedness Month, making it the ideal time for ISU to conduct annual fire evacuation drills across campus.

For approximately two weeks beginning, Monday, August 31, fire evacuation drills will be conducted on the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses. The drill schedule and evacuation instructions are available on Public Safety’s website. These drills do not have an impact on the monthly evacuation drills on the Meridian campus, or for those facilities that have campus housing.When you hear a fire alarm, stop what you are doing and immediately exit the building using the nearest exit. Remember to close doors behind you and avoid using elevators anytime the fire alarm is activated. Go to the assembly area and wait for further instructions. Do not re-enter the building until you are told to do so. Faculty and staff should help direct students and campus visitors who may be unfamiliar with the building or the process. 

The Importance of Drills
While a fire drill may briefly interrupt your day, it serves a much bigger purpose. Emergencies rarely happen when it’s convenient, and the action you take in the first few moments can make all the difference. Practicing now helps ensure that everyone knows exactly what to do when every second counts.Fire evacuation drills are designed to help students, faculty, and staff:

• Become familiar with the nearest exits from classrooms, labs, offices, residence halls, and other campus buildings.
• Provide the opportunity to identify designated assembly areas.
• Reinforce the important reminders such as closing doors as you exit a building and never using elevators during a fire alarm.
• Build confidence so that responding safely becomes second nature.

Every successful drill strengthens our campus’s ability to respond effectively to a real emergency.

Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility
Emergency preparedness isn't just the responsibility of firefighters, police officers, or campus safety officials. Every member of our campus community plays a role in creating a safer environment.By participating fully in evacuation drills, you're helping emergency responders evaluate procedures, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure that buildings can be evacuated efficiently. Most importantly, you're helping protect students, coworkers, and visitors.

Make September Your Safety Starting Point
National Preparedness Month reminds us that preparedness begins long before an emergency occurs. Take a few minutes this September to familiarize yourself with all the buildings you frequent on campus and review ISU’s emergency preparedness and response protocols. Support students and colleagues by discussing preparedness steps and thinking about how you would respond if an emergency happened unexpectedly. This September, when the fire alarm sounds, don't think of it as an interruption—think of it as an investment in your safety and the safety of everyone around you. Together, we make our campus a safer place to learn, work, and thrive.