Preparation is key.

Last week, the Wentworth community participated in its first campus-wide shelter in place drill.  Drills like these are important in our emergency preparedness. During the drill, observers were posted throughout campus to evaluate individual’s response to the drill. In some buildings, observers were stationed outside of classrooms to evaluate whether faculty, staff were taking the necessary steps to shelter in place. In more common spaces, observers were available to talk with students, faculty, and staff about what they would do in the event of an actual incident. Understanding what worked well and what didn’t work well helps us to better prepare for a real emergency in the future. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this drill.

The shelter in place drill was coordinated by the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). CIRT is comprised of representatives from across campus and is chaired by our Director of Public Safety.  The Director of Emergency Management for the Colleges of the Fenway plays an active role on CIRT and helped to coordinate our shelter in place drill.  CIRT meets regularly to review incidents occuring on campus, like this past summer’s power outage in Ira Allen and the Annex building, and to organize emergency preparedness policies and procedures.

Preparation for an actual critical incident is important. CIRT will review the shelter in place drill and provide further guidance on how the community can best prepare for emergencies. In the meantime, individuals who have not yet signed up for WIT Alert notifications should do so as soon as possible. To sign up for WIT Alert messages, visit the Public Safety website.

For more information on Wentworth’s emergency preparedness or to provide feedback on the shelter in place drill, please contact Public Safety.