Penn's Division of Public Safety will test the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System and a campus-wide Shelter-in-Place Awareness Drill on Sept. 29 at 12 p.m.
Credit: Gabriel JungPenn's Division of Public Safety will conduct annual safety tests and hold a Health and Safety Fair on Friday.
The test of the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System and a campuswide Shelter-in-Place Awareness Drill will occur at 12 p.m. According to an email sent out to the Penn community by Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and Provost John Jackson Jr., the DPS will send out a UPennAlert message and sound a siren system. The email said that people do not need to take any action.
"The annual test is required for Penn to comply with the Philadelphia Fire Code and the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act," the email wrote.
The test will consist of messages sent to everyone enrolled in the UPennAlert System, including personal electronic devices and the DPS website, and a 15-second siren from the Penn Siren Outdoor System that "may be startling or distressing for some members of our community."
The PennReady program heads emergency preparedness programs at Penn. This program was developed in part through the University of Pennsylvania Crisis Management Plan. Run by DPS, the initiative aims to “prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from all emergencies that could affect the Penn and University City communities.”
The test of the UPennAlert system, PennSOS, and the Shelter-in-Place Awareness Drill is part of the Health and Safety Fair happening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. near Rodin College House.
As part of the fair, PennReady will conduct a sprinkler test at 12:30 a.m., which consists of a side-by-side simulated burn of two residential rooms. The test will demonstrate how the sprinkler system, which is in every residential unit, operates and features a Medical Emergency Response Team demonstration.
The burn demonstration event will include free food and giveaways.
“We want to bring the campus together to focus on emergency preparedness and helping people understand not to be afraid, but always to be aware that they should be ready for an emergency,” Chief of Fire and Emergency Services Eugene Janda said.
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