Stop, drop, roll? Not with this drill

Last night, Rodin College House residents were given specific instructions: Close the windows, shut the bedroom door, go to a lounge-less floor, and listen up.

In place of the more standard fire drills, University safety officials conducted a shelter-in-place drill, in which students learned what to do in case of non-fire-related emergencies.

These could include anything from a gas leak to a nuclear attack - an incident where going outside or inhaling outside air would be a health hazard.

After the students congregated on the designated lounge-less floors - the houses' lounges have windows - Housing officials spoke over the intercom system about what the proper protocol is for these types of emergencies.

The drill has been mandated by the Philadelphia Fire Code since 2004, said Gene Janda, Deputy Chief of Penn's Fire and Emergency Services.

But incidents involving the release of toxic gas substances are still a timely reality and have lately hit much closer to home.

This past Sunday, a hardware store fire in Honey Brook, Pa., led authorities to order residents to stay in their homes because of potentially hazardous materials burning in the store, Janda said.

Harrison, Harnwell and Gregory college houses also held the same types of drills last night; all on-campus residences will conduct similar shelter-in-place drills later this week. In addition, other on-campus buildings will hold them later this semester, said Penn Safety Specialist John Cook.

The University drills were designed to prepare students if a derailed freight train on the tracks near Franklin Field released a toxic airborne chemical, Cook said.

Still, despite the conspicuous need to conduct these drills, student responses varied about the effectiveness of the drill.

Engineering junior Jonathan Moses said the drill procedure covered things that are "mostly common sense."

"I don't know if this drill is necessary," he said.

College junior Adam Novick, however, said that the drill could prove useful in the event of a terrorist attack.

"These accidents or attacks happen rarely," said Novick, who also works on Penn's student Medical Emergency Response Team. "But they are serious and students need to know what to do and where to go."

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