ECU to conduct emergency drill May 18

GREENVILLE, NC — East Carolina University officials are scheduled to conduct a full-scale emergency planning drill May 18 at a residence hall on the west end of main campus.

Students, faculty, staff and visitors are advised to avoid the following areas between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.: Green, White, Clement, Fletcher and Garrett residence halls, as well as Bloxton House and West End Dining.

Because of their proximity to the drill site, Mendenhall Student Center and the Student Recreation Center will be closed to the public until 1 p.m. University employees are asked to report to work as usual.

Some streets and parking areas on campus may be blocked, including Trustees Way at Fifth Street and in front of Jenkins Fine Arts Center; Faculty Way behind Jenkins and Bloxton House; a parking lot north of the Student Recreation Center; and Reade Street from Reade Circle to Fifth Street. B1 parking lots off Reade Street between 5th and 3rd streets will be unavailable.

The drill, a normal part of ECU emergency planning, is designed to prepare staff and law enforcement to respond to an active shooter on campus. People should be aware that the exercise may involve actors, emergency outdoor speakers and simulated use of weapons, said Tom Pohlman, environmental manager with ECU Environmental Health and Safety.

The drill is scheduled to involve many agencies including ECU and Greenville police, the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department, the N.C. Highway Patrol, Greenville Fire and Rescue, Pitt County Emergency Services, and Pitt Emergency Management.

The exercise will occur on the first day of summer classes.