Within just a few days of each other, students at both the middle school and high school experienced an emergency evacuation when the fire alarm was pulled due to the presence of smoke on Oct.23, and on Oct. 30, students made their way to Clay Lamberton’s little gym for the planned yearly drill evacuation.
“I’ve heard so many stories and seen things in the news about other schools not having proper safety drills, and people not knowing what to do in the event of a fire or shooting,” senior Ashlyn Strebeliniski said.
The District Safety Committee consists of one teacher from each building: science teacher Ben Sanderfoot for the high school, band teacher Trica Walheim for the middle school, and 4-K teacher Jen Kouba for Clay Lamberton. Other members are Officer Zach Plath, Director of Operations Josh Youngbauer, and Superintendent Dr. Emmett Durtschi. Their role is to ensure a system is in place to protect students and staff.
“Committee members meet monthly to review happenings of the district, plan safety drills, revise action or crisis plans, or come up with new ways to help keep the students and staff safe while here at school. The committee members work in the months ahead to plan out the type of drill scenario and location of the drill,” Sanderfoot said.
The safety committee has multiple plans of action in place if something that requires their attention occurs. Sanderfoot has been a committee member since its creation in 2017 and has participated in many urgent cases.
“I have helped with various emergencies before, including some medical events. We quickly assess the scenario and problem-solve to help the person who needs assistance, whether it’s something we can take care of ourselves or if we need to call emergency medical services. We’ve also dealt with weather emergencies (lightning) at sporting events and have to enact our weather safety plans to keep participants and spectators safe,” Sanderfoot said.
Elementary students may not understand the purpose of these drills right now, but as they grow, the drills will impact the way they respond to emergencies and equip them with the knowledge they need for real emergencies.
“It was kind of confusing when we were little because we didn’t understand it. But eventually we heard more stories about emergencies happening in other places, and we learned that the drills are actually important, so we know what to do in case something ever happens,” Strebelinski said.
The state fire inspector comes to inspect BASD’s systems twice a year to ensure a proper system of codes and requirements is in place.
“We have a drill (fire, tornado, ALICE) once a month during the school year, September through May. In June through August, we are testing and inspecting all of our systems,” Youngbauer said.
After twelve years of drills and knowledge of tragedies at other schools, Strebelinski is assured in her readiness for any emergency she encounters at school.
“As I got older, they (safety drills) made me feel safer at school. Now I understand the point of them, and I feel more prepared,” Strebelinski said.
