Crisis Management: UNA to Respond to Simulated Disaster Thursday

Aug. 2, 2010

FLORENCE, Ala. – In a time when college campuses nationwide face a variety of crisis-management challenges, such as shootings and other disasters, the University of North Alabama will have the opportunity this Thursday to respond to a simulated campus attack. The simulation exercises, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will include a tanker-truck wreck on Waterloo Road as well as a shooting in Wesleyan Hall. The exercises will begin at 1 p.m.

“We have no real details about how these disasters will unfold, but then, that’s the way it would be in a real-life situation,” said Bob Pastula, UNA chief of police. “This will be a valuable exercise for the UNA police and many others who would be directly involved should a tragedy like this ever occur on this campus. It’s important that we get to put in motion what we’ve said we’d do in a situation like this – and then get to evaluate how we did. Our preparedness for a Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois or UAH type of crisis will be much greater as a result of this exercise.”

The simulation exercises at UNA will follow a day of similar exercises for the city of Florence on Wednesday, funded through the same Department of Homeland Security grant. The grant was applied for by the Lauderdale EMA.