Staff Sgts.Christopher Gay and Quavise Cherry open the roof latches that would be used in an emergency where the bus is on its side. Photo by Wilson A. Rivera.
Middle schoolers learn evacuation drill
Soldiers aren’t the only ones who conducty scenario-based safety training to prepare for the real thing.
More than 800 Bassett Middle School students participated in a mock drill Friday in front of the school, during which they learned to exit a school bus in an orderly fashion in case of an emergency.
Staff Sgt. Jared English demonstrates the procedure to follow if a rear-door exit is used during an emergency. Photo by Wilson A. Rivera.
“There isn’t anything like hands-on training,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Gay, a student at the Basic Noncommisioned Officers’ Course at the NCO Academy here, who helped with the execution of the drill.
Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students watched an instructional video, The Safest Way Out – Emergency School Bus Evacuation to capture the visual aspects of what to do if an emergency occurs. Students then moved to buses outside to practice what they had just seen. BNCOC Soldiers interacted with students boarding the buses and demonstrated where the exits were located.
As students boarded the buses, Soldiers took positions near the rear-door exit, window exits, roof latches and the front door. Bus drivers identified where fire extinguishers, radios and release switches for the front doors were located.
The best way off a bus during an emergency is through the front door, according to the instructional video.
Buses line the front of Basset Middle School where students prepared to train on exiting a bus in an emergency situation. Photo by Wilson A. Rivera.
In an accident or emergency, the bus driver calls the dispatch and hangs the radio’s microphone out the window so it can be used from outside the bus. Student leaders assist others off the bus and escort them toward a rallying point while, one by one, students empty out the bus alternating row by row. If it is unsafe in the forward compartment of the bus or if the bus is on its side, students can exit through the rear door or use the emergency latches in the roof of the bus.
The idea for the drill came about because the BNCOC class wanted to assist a local school with some sort of project, said Staff Sgt. Katina N. Fults, BNCOC small group leader instructor.
Following the drill, Soldiers helped students with work assignments and ate lunch with them.
“It’s a good way to give back to the community since they do so much for us,” said Staff Sgt. Quavise Cherry, BNCOC Soldier.