A Sign That Could Help Save Lives
Oskaloosa Fire Captain Tim Nance (left); Mahaska County Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson (middle left); Oskaloosa Christian School Principal Dr. Bob Stouffer (middle right) and Oskaloosa Firefighter Dan Hoy (right) stand in front of new signage at the Oskaloosa Christian School that will help identify where to extricate students if trapped.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Being prepared for the worst is something Mahaska County Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson helps area residents with almost every day.
Tornado and other emergency drills are something he helps area schools develop, and during a recent drill at the Oskaloosa Christian School, Robinson added another option to enable emergency responders to further serve and prepare for the worst.
The idea is to help firefighters and responders identify on the exterior of the building where occupants may be trapped in the event of structural collapse. Since emergency plans call for students and teachers at the school to congregate in two safe rooms, the concern then turned to being able to access those individuals if the exits were blocked due to a collapse.
One of those options explored, and now implemented, is signage on the exterior of the building. This will help those rescuers locate where to cut an opening in the exterior of the building to make entrance into the facility, in the event other escape routes have become blocked.
Robinson worked with, now former school principal, Jason Alons on developing the signage. Once new principal Dr. Bob Stouffer heard the idea, he was on-board, and within a week, the signs were affixed to the exterior of the building.
Robinson wants to have similar signage in place at other area schools in the future.
“This will help our fire department with pre-planning,” Robinson said. “Instead of having to run around the school looking for a place to get in, they [firefighters] can cut a hole right there and have access to the kids.”
“That’s great. This makes sense,” said Dr. Bob Stouffer. Stouffer was impressed with the idea, and praised Robinson for his leadership in emergency planning.
