There were some problems reported during last year's fires in the Science building. In particular,

• the alarms in at least some parts of the West side of the building apparently did not sound or could not be heard,
• some students and faculty members heard the alarm but did not recognize it as a fire alarm,
• some students initially refused to evacuate the building and
• some faculty members did not know what was expected of them during the evacuation (should classroom doors be locked to protect student and MSOE property, how should students with disabilities be evacuated from the upper floors of the building, should power to equipment be cut off, etc.).

In light of these problems, the faculty senate proposes that fire drills be conducted on a regular basis in all MSOE buildings. In order to accommodate Milwaukee’s weather and minimize the disruption to classes, a drill should be held sometime during the first three days of every Fall and Spring quarter during the last 10 minutes of a class period.

Buildings should be completely evacuated during the drills. The evacuations should be monitored and evaluated by the school’s Public Safety Office. Any observed problems or irregularities should be reported to the school administration and faculty council president and corrective measures suggested.