Fire Drills Prepare Students for Real-Life Incidents
A Reminder from Principles for Principals, Leading the Way to School Safety by Ada Rosario Dolch
Ada Rosario Dolch served as the principal of the High School for Leadership and Public Service in lower Manhattan for six years when she and her staff confronted the ultimate challenge on September 11, 2001[1].
Principal Ada Dolch decided to change the way her school approached Fire Drills. "As a class project, devised by one of the teachers, they decided to assign a group of students in the teacher’s 9th grade leadership class to develop a Fire Drill that the school could use.
"The teacher led the students through the requirements, the “laws”, and then asked the students to consider every possible facet of a safety plan that would be easily put into action by the entire student body.
"Students took building walks. They identified the amount of time it would take to walk out of their classrooms (from the 2nd to the 14th floor) to evacuate the building. They drew maps. They thought of teacher buddy systems. They identified potential problems and sought solutions (what happens when a student has left the classroom to use the bathroom or left to see their guidance counselor on a different floor?). They created outdoor floor plans and then shared their findings with the entire student body," Ada Dolch explained in Principles for Principals, Leading the Way to School Safety"~ Ada Rosario Dolch.
Everyone played a role in the development of the plan that was in effect on September 11, 2001.
"By the time the students finished with the plan and shared it with the administration, they were so entrenched in their work, there was little for us to change. The students were so proud of their work that they wanted to demonstrate to the adults in the building that their plan would work in any circumstance. They were right. Because the students took the initiative, they were active participants in the drills and were eager to sit down to make adjustments as needed.
"One of the things the students brought to our attention was the need for the teachers to “always” stay true to the fire drill plan.
For example, if during period 5 teachers on the 8th floor were to stand with their classes along Thames Street, a student not traveling with their class could easily reunite with their teacher and class for they would know exactly where to go. At the beginning of the school year, each teacher was given a large placard with their name, which we posted on a large piece of wood.
"A student could hold the placard above their head identifying the position of a teacher. All of this might sound elementary, but it was the very plan that led to a safe evacuation on September 11. We had to make adjustments, but the tenets of the plan were very much at play."~Ada Rosario Dolch
Once you have developed a fire drill safety plan - practice, practice, practice
Ada Dolch can’t stress this enough. She suggested that after each practice, that the principal and/or each teacher take the time to bring together students and staff together to review what took place and how it might be improved. Ada recalled one of the first outdoor fire drills they conducted. She noted that teachers were standing around a coffee cart (these are quite prevalent in NYC), purchasing coffee. "This was not acceptable. Their actions led to some basic conversations about the responsibility of the staff to the students for their safety. It was never an issue again," said Ada.
Students and staff can become complacent about fire drills - motivate them to practice
She also suggested that it is important to make “unexpected” changes to the drill to ensure that everyone is prepared in case of a true emergency. (This is also a great opportunity to invite the local fire department into your school.) "On occasion, while a fire drill was in effect, she would remove two or three students from the line and would ask them to stay with her. She wanted to see the teacher’s reaction to missing students from their class roster (which they were expected to carry with them during a drill). It was critical to remind students that if they were not in their classroom (bathroom, stairwell, guidance office, and cafeteria), they too had to participate in the drill and how their attendance was to be monitored so as to ensure that all students were accounted for during the drill."~ Ada Rosario Dolch
She said that they learned this from the Fire Chief who visited their school building several times. He reminded them that in the case of a fire, firemen need to know if there is someone in the building for the purpose of “search and rescue.” "If you can guarantee that everyone is out of the building, then their fire-fighting tactics are different. This led her school to establish a sign-out and sign-in classroom policy. Though at first cumbersome, it allowed them to know where a student might be (guidance office, emergency office, etc.), in the event of an emergency."~Ada Rosario Dolch
[1] Principles for Principals,Leading the Way to School Safety by Ada Dolch, published by Visual Imagry, Inc. for Principals Lesson Learned project 2012-2014.
“There is no greater contribution we can make than to keep children safe so they can learn/”
Principal Ada Dolch decided to change the way her school approached Fire Drills. "As a class project, devised by one of the teachers, they decided to assign a group of students in the teacher’s 9th grade leadership class to develop a Fire Drill that the school could use.
"The teacher led the students through the requirements, the “laws”, and then asked the students to consider every possible facet of a safety plan that would be easily put into action by the entire student body.
"Students took building walks. They identified the amount of time it would take to walk out of their classrooms (from the 2nd to the 14th floor) to evacuate the building. They drew maps. They thought of teacher buddy systems. They identified potential problems and sought solutions (what happens when a student has left the classroom to use the bathroom or left to see their guidance counselor on a different floor?). They created outdoor floor plans and then shared their findings with the entire student body," Ada Dolch explained in Principles for Principals, Leading the Way to School Safety"~ Ada Rosario Dolch.
Everyone played a role in the development of the plan that was in effect on September 11, 2001.
"By the time the students finished with the plan and shared it with the administration, they were so entrenched in their work, there was little for us to change. The students were so proud of their work that they wanted to demonstrate to the adults in the building that their plan would work in any circumstance. They were right. Because the students took the initiative, they were active participants in the drills and were eager to sit down to make adjustments as needed.
"One of the things the students brought to our attention was the need for the teachers to “always” stay true to the fire drill plan.
For example, if during period 5 teachers on the 8th floor were to stand with their classes along Thames Street, a student not traveling with their class could easily reunite with their teacher and class for they would know exactly where to go. At the beginning of the school year, each teacher was given a large placard with their name, which we posted on a large piece of wood.
"A student could hold the placard above their head identifying the position of a teacher. All of this might sound elementary, but it was the very plan that led to a safe evacuation on September 11. We had to make adjustments, but the tenets of the plan were very much at play."~Ada Rosario Dolch
Once you have developed a fire drill safety plan - practice, practice, practice
Ada Dolch can’t stress this enough. She suggested that after each practice, that the principal and/or each teacher take the time to bring together students and staff together to review what took place and how it might be improved. Ada recalled one of the first outdoor fire drills they conducted. She noted that teachers were standing around a coffee cart (these are quite prevalent in NYC), purchasing coffee. "This was not acceptable. Their actions led to some basic conversations about the responsibility of the staff to the students for their safety. It was never an issue again," said Ada.
Students and staff can become complacent about fire drills - motivate them to practice
She also suggested that it is important to make “unexpected” changes to the drill to ensure that everyone is prepared in case of a true emergency. (This is also a great opportunity to invite the local fire department into your school.) "On occasion, while a fire drill was in effect, she would remove two or three students from the line and would ask them to stay with her. She wanted to see the teacher’s reaction to missing students from their class roster (which they were expected to carry with them during a drill). It was critical to remind students that if they were not in their classroom (bathroom, stairwell, guidance office, and cafeteria), they too had to participate in the drill and how their attendance was to be monitored so as to ensure that all students were accounted for during the drill."~ Ada Rosario Dolch
She said that they learned this from the Fire Chief who visited their school building several times. He reminded them that in the case of a fire, firemen need to know if there is someone in the building for the purpose of “search and rescue.” "If you can guarantee that everyone is out of the building, then their fire-fighting tactics are different. This led her school to establish a sign-out and sign-in classroom policy. Though at first cumbersome, it allowed them to know where a student might be (guidance office, emergency office, etc.), in the event of an emergency."~Ada Rosario Dolch
[1] Principles for Principals,Leading the Way to School Safety by Ada Dolch, published by Visual Imagry, Inc. for Principals Lesson Learned project 2012-2014.
“There is no greater contribution we can make than to keep children safe so they can learn/”
