Everybody out!

Courthouse staff completes evacuation drill

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
Despite the brisk weather on a chilly November day, Weston County Courthouse staff left the building and made their way to the corner by First State Bank as part of a facilities evacuation drill on Monday.  
Emergency Management Coordinator Denise Bradshaw told the county commissioners on Oct. 16 that the drill planned for Nov. 19 was not what was originally planned, but still essential for the courthouse staff. 
During the drill, according to Bradshaw, the staff and customers were evacuated, during business hours, and relocated to the Weston County Annex, which acted as one of the secondary locations for the drill. Elected officials operating in the courthouse were then escorted by bus to the Weston County Events Center. 
Bradshaw explained that previously the entire courthouse staff was going to relocate to the events center and the plan was to continue operations from a remote location, to prepare for a potential emergency such as a fire. 
“We have decided to just do the evacuation and send the secondary staff back to the courthouse to continue operations while department heads practice the second piece of the evacuation,” Bradshaw said. “We felt like that was a better place, and everyone agreed.” 
Bradshaw said that in the future she plans to elaborate the drill extensively and that maybe by next year the staff will practice working from a remote location. She also suggested running a drill where the doors get closed off and the staff has to find alternative ways to evacuate the building. 
“I think we are making good progress,” Bradshaw said. “It will be nice to have something in place. Currently there is nothing in the handbook and nothing in place more than how to get out of the building.” 
She stressed that drills need to be practiced on a regular basis and that the courthouse staff needs to have a plan for the evacuation and continued operations in the future. 
Bradshaw noted that situations that could require long-term relocation of operations include fire, smoke damage, flooding damage and many other potential situations. 
“When the flood happened, everything had to be rearranged and that was only one to two rooms,” Bradshaw said. “If it is an entire flood, we are looking at a lot longer to recover.” 
Bradshaw reported after the drill that the day went as planned, although timing was slightly delayed because the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department and Newcastle Ambulance Service were able to participate. She noted that the evacuation lasted roughly an hour. 
“We had the courthouse reopened by 10:40 and the drill started at 10,” Bradshaw said, adding that everyone had cleared the courthouse by 10:04, and the fire department fire was on scene by 10:06. 
“Everything went really well,” Bradshaw said. “We hope to build on this in the future because there are so many things that could possibly go wrong.”