On Thursday April 2, the Sierra Vista, one of Glendale Community College’s newest building was put to the test by undergoing its very first fire evacuation drill.

This drills purpose was to simulate what to do in case of a gas leak, fire or earthquake. Despite this drill being unexpected, it was a complete success, campus officials told El Vaquero.Students and faculty who participated in it are now aware of what to do in case of any real emergency.

“The “time” alone is not the sole measure of success for a drill since the purposes are also to practice the evacuation routes and work with our local emergency partners to clear the building,” stated Gary Montecuollo, Chief of Police.

This evacuation drill is one of many that will be conducted throughout the remaining of the school year, GCC’s police stated. Chief Montecuollo added that there are many other fire drills that will be taking place in campus to ensure the safety of every facility.

For this drill in particular, the students were expected to evacuate to the lower tennis courts due to the Human Resources building being programmed to assemble there as well.

Throughout all 30 minutes of the evacuation drill, all alarm systems were tested and were deemed effective.

The GCC Police Department issued a statement afterwards and provided additional information regarding building evacuations via email. The sole purpose, they said, is to keep students and faculty aware of the precautions needed to take in case of any fires, earthquakes or gas leaks.

For any additional information, student and faculty can also visit the GCC website at www.glendale.edu/emergencyprocedures

Catalina Juarez can be reached at [email protected]