Press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:

Housing & Residence Life at Cal Poly Humboldt will hold its annual emergency simulation on Wednesday, Aug. 12 to test campus and community response teams.

The exercise will take place at 6 p.m. in a residence hall. 

The simulation will be loud and include participation from Cal Poly Humboldt’s Housing & Residence Life, University Police Department, and Campus Resilience & Response, Arcata Fire Department, plus first responders from local agencies. 

Passersby may see smoke coming out of a residence hall and actors crying for help. First responders will use emergency radios and campus traffic flow may be affected.

The exercise aims to train University Housing staff and local first responders on how to respond to a University housing emergency. The emergency simulation is intended to provide a real-time, realistic experience of an emergency as well as provide the opportunity to test and evaluate a practical plan and practice communication among agencies.

Housing & Residence Life began holding multi-agency emergency simulations in 1986. The exercise takes place each year in August. During a real campus emergency, the University will send timely messages to the campus community and post  information on Cal Poly Humboldt’s homepage.