Published by Garrett Wishall on 09 Nov 2009
‘This is a test:’ campus security to test emergency siren Nov. 10
Department of Campus Safety and Security officers observe video monitors which are connected to cameras located throughout the campus in public areas. Photo by John Gill
By Emily Griffin
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is comprised of more than professors and students, classrooms and seminars. Behind the scenes is a team of 25 that ensures the safety of students, staff and faculty. Working out of the lower level of the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion, under the direction of Bob Perkins, is the Southern Seminary Department of Campus Safety and Security.
Officers patrol the residence halls and seminary buildings, provide security for all special events, offer dusk to dawn campus escorts and provide 24-hour central dispatch. They monitor numerous fire and security alarm systems, closed-circuit television cameras and compile reports and documents required by law. Each of the department officers are trained in emergency procedures, first aid and CPR. Perkins and his team also work closely with other SBTS departments to manage nightly lock-up and the opening and closing of seminary facilities.
The Department of Campus Safety and Security works closely with the Louisville Metro Police Department and with the local, state and federal agencies to ensure the most effective emergency procedures are followed on Southern’s campus. This semester the Department of Campus Safety and Security has partnered with the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency (EMA) with the installation of an emergency notification siren located on Southern’s campus.
Located on top of the Honeycutt Student Center, the 1,600 watt siren will serve as a weather and emergency alert for Southern and the surrounding neighborhoods. The siren, which will work in conjunction with EMA sirens around the city, will be operated by the EMA. The siren will function just like other sirens located in Louisville and will emit that familiar “wailing” sound in the event of a weather emergency such as a tornado.
“This new siren is just one of the many layers of security at Southern Seminary,” Perkins said. “We will be testing all of these layers, including the siren, on Nov. 10, between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.”
These elements of the campus emergency broadcasting system will be tested to simulate what would happen upon the arrival of a weather threat, natural disaster, security threat or health hazard.
“We are going to see how good we are. On Tuesday, we are going to see how well we do our job,” Perkins said.
The Nov. 10 tests will include: test messages will flash on the blue-LED clocks in classrooms, text messages with emergency information will be sent to students and faculty that have registered their cellular phones with the Department of Campus Safety and Security, the Southern Seminary and Boyce College website homepages and student email accounts will be updated with notification. Students that live on-campus will notice an approximate two-minute audio message on the campus cable television connection.
“We’ve worked closely with Campus Technology on developing these different aspects of security,” Perkins said. “They really wrote a great software program so we could get these messages out to the campus. They do a great job; we couldn’t do our jobs without them.”
The most noticeable test on Nov. 10 will be of the Honeycutt Center siren, which will sound at noon as part of EMA’s normal testing schedule. Starting this month, on the second Tuesday of every month the Honeycutt siren will be tested by EMA. This test will last for three minutes. There will be a short pause and then a second audio test will follow, the one minute audio signal will indicate a campus lock-down. Perkins and his team hope people will concentrate on the siren’s sound and educated themselves of what to do if a lock-down were to occur. If the lock-down siren is sounded outside of a regular test, lock your door and stay where you are until further notice from campus officials.
“We also have the ability to go “live” on a PA (public address) system through our new siren. What we need to educate our campus on is that not only are they going to see and hear these tests next Tuesday but they need to know what they mean,” Perkins said.
The tests occurring on Nov. 10 are not intended to scare the Southern Seminary and Boyce College community, but rather to inform everyone of the measure that are being taken to ensure security and safety. Students, staff and faculty can contact the Department of Campus Safety and Security with questions at any time by dialing campus extension [x4444].
Faculty, staff, students and employees can go to their eCampus accounts to register their cell phones to receive emergency messages or they can send their name, cell phone number and provider to security. All are encouraged to sign-up to receive these types of messages.
Campus Safety and Security can now be followed on Twitter as SBTSsecurity. SBTS students, faculty, and staff wishing to receive important information pertaining to campus safety and security, including information in the case of a campus emergency, can go to http://twitter.com/SBTSsecurity or go to www.twitter.com and search for SBTSsecurity.
