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Residence hall assistants Nicki Himschoot and Sara Wolf make their way through the smoke-filled hallways of the Schmidt/Wilson residence halls during a fire simulation training exercise. (Joe Krupa photo)
University facilities staff used the theater department’s fog machine to “smoke up” a floor of Schmidt/Wilson residence halls. Directors and assistants then had to find their way from the east stairwell to the west stairwell.
“We wanted to give these students as realistic view as possible of what scenario they might find in a fire,” said Jill DeMuth, Ball State safety specialist. “This is important to think about because smoke is the biggest killer, not the fire.”
The drill was chillingly effective, said Matt Norrod, assistant director for Palmer Hall, who noted he could only see about 10 feet in front of him.
“That was pretty scary,” he said. “At times you would be walking and you didn’t know if there was a wall in front of you or which way you were supposed to be going.”
What couldn’t be simulated was the panic, the difficulty or inability to breathe, the noise from the fire alarms and the fear of people trying to exit as might happen in a real-life situation, DeMuth said.
Even so, Norrod said he clearly got the idea of what conditions he might face when trying to help others seek safety or to find a way out himself.
“As far as the smoke and what kind of visibility conditions there would be, it was pretty realistic,” he said.
This is the first year Ball State staged this drill as part of its regular safety training for hall directors and assistants.
Some directors indicated they would like to run this drill for residence hall students during the regular school year, DeMuth said.
“This might help students take fire alarms and potentially risky behavior such as burning candles in their rooms more seriously,” Norrod said
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact DeMuth by e-mail at jdemuth@bsu.edu or by phone at (765) 285-2815.)
