Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will conduct two simulated disaster exercises on campus July 25.
The first event will be an emergency response training involving a fire disaster in residence hall Building 1512, which is located on River Road near the East Campus Parking Deck. The drill will begin at approximately 8:30 a.m. and will conclude prior to 11 a.m.
The exercise will involve the UGA Police Department, the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department and National EMS responding to the mock incident. As a result, there will be several emergency vehicles in the area.
Drivers and pedestrians are urged to travel with caution, as the River Road loop in front of Building 1512 will be limited to one lane of traffic for a brief period to accommodate parked emergency vehicles. In addition, pedestrian traffic from McWhorter Hall, Vandiver Hall, Rooker Hall and the East Village Deck may be diverted around Building 1512 during the exercise.
Later in the day, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will conduct a simulated news event as part of multimedia training for college newspaper editors attending a university conference. The exercise will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. at Baldwin Street and Sanford Drive near the Grady College.
The mock disaster will involve a simulated head-on collision between a large UGA physical plant truck and a passenger vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on a one-way street that careens onto a sidewalk populated with pedestrians. As part of the simulation, student journalists will be exposed to multiple injuries, a rumor-filled crowd, and UGA law enforcement and public relations personnel who will conduct a news conference to discuss the event. The students will be required to write and file stories after the news conference, which will be critiqued by Grady College and conference faculty.
The event is being conducted in cooperation with UGA Police, the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Office of Public Affairs.
The simulation is a part of the 17th annual Management Seminar for College News Editors, which is conducted each summer by the Grady College.
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