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Siren not audible inside dorms
Danger zone doesn't reach residence halls
By Olga Ivshina on 11/15/07
The Army Corps of Engineers siren test Nov. 7 was marked as a success because it could be heard in the required shelter-in-place zone, which ends a few feet short of Centennial Hall close to Jacobs Field.
While it is not required for students be able to hear the siren in their dorm rooms, one student said it would be helpful to hear it from there, as some students said they could not hear the warning well or at all in the South side dorms.
Daiva MacKenzie, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she was in the lobby of Anderson Hall when the siren sounded around 4:05 p.m. but could not hear it.
"But I knew it went off," she said. "I hope something will be done so that we would be able to hear it, especially if we are supposed to be in the building when it goes off."
The Army Corps announced the siren test in text messages and e-mails sent through the Alert DC system. Additionally, the university mentioned the test in its Nov. 7 Today@AU e-mail.
Venus Barieva, an Abroad at AU student and resident of Anderson Hall whose room faces Jacobs Field, said she heard something at that time. However, it was so quiet, she said she thought it was just an ambulance or a fire engine passing by the university.
Angelina Upshaw, a sophomore in the School of International Service who lives in Centennial Hall, said she didn't hear anything during the time period when the siren was supposed to go off.
The Army Corps of Engineers began excavating and removing World War I-era weapons from the site at 4825 Glenbrook Road, a university-owned property, Oct. 29. The shelter-in-place zone surrounds the site.
The university held information and shelter-in-place sessions for the occupants of buildings close to the site - Watkins, Kreeger, Hamilton and Financial Aid buildings, Jacobs Field and the Child Development Center. Sessions, including a video shown to all classes that meet in Watkins, mainly concentrated on the explanation of the shelter-in-place safety system and specific emergency procedures for each building that would be affected in the event of an emergency in the excavation area.
While it is not required for students be able to hear the siren in their dorm rooms, one student said it would be helpful to hear it from there, as some students said they could not hear the warning well or at all in the South side dorms.
Daiva MacKenzie, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she was in the lobby of Anderson Hall when the siren sounded around 4:05 p.m. but could not hear it.
"But I knew it went off," she said. "I hope something will be done so that we would be able to hear it, especially if we are supposed to be in the building when it goes off."
The Army Corps announced the siren test in text messages and e-mails sent through the Alert DC system. Additionally, the university mentioned the test in its Nov. 7 Today@AU e-mail.
Venus Barieva, an Abroad at AU student and resident of Anderson Hall whose room faces Jacobs Field, said she heard something at that time. However, it was so quiet, she said she thought it was just an ambulance or a fire engine passing by the university.
Angelina Upshaw, a sophomore in the School of International Service who lives in Centennial Hall, said she didn't hear anything during the time period when the siren was supposed to go off.
The Army Corps of Engineers began excavating and removing World War I-era weapons from the site at 4825 Glenbrook Road, a university-owned property, Oct. 29. The shelter-in-place zone surrounds the site.
The university held information and shelter-in-place sessions for the occupants of buildings close to the site - Watkins, Kreeger, Hamilton and Financial Aid buildings, Jacobs Field and the Child Development Center. Sessions, including a video shown to all classes that meet in Watkins, mainly concentrated on the explanation of the shelter-in-place safety system and specific emergency procedures for each building that would be affected in the event of an emergency in the excavation area.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Allen Hengst
posted 11/15/07 @ 12:52 PM EST
FYI, to hear exactly what the emergency siren sounded like on November 7th, please follow the link on my blog underneath the picture of the green and yellow "Shelter-In-Place" image or you can download the 3. (Continued…)
ahengst
Allen Hengst
posted 11/16/07 @ 12:20 PM EST
To hear a three-minute recording of this emergency siren from November 7th, I've posted a link to the 3.7 MB sound file on my "Weapons of Mass Destruction in DC" blog underneath the image of the green and yellow Shelter-In-Place directions. (Continued…)
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