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Director of Campus Safety Francis Manfredo prepares some of the volunteer actors for their roles in the emergency preparedness drill.
Director of Campus Safety Francis Manfredo prepares some of the volunteer actors for their roles in the emergency preparedness drill.

The College conducted a large-scale emergency drill on campus on Monday, July 29, the fourth in a series of yearly exercises to ensure that the Hamilton Emergency Response Team (HERT) is proficient in handling emergencies utilizing the Incident Command System (ICS).

Despite the fact that early on Monday morning there was a real hostage situation in a nearby community, many of those law enforcement agencies that had committed to participating did so. News organizations that had agreed to play media roles in the exercise as well as report on the drill also were able to come to campus. Coverage included news stories produced by WUTR (ABC/Fox affiliate) and WKTV (NBC affiliate) as well as the Observer-Dispatch.

The Hamilton exercise is one of the most extensive operations in fulfillment of the yearly Clery Act mandate that every college conduct a test of its crisis systems. While some colleges hold tabletop briefings or have meetings to discuss their plans, Hamilton takes a much bolder approach. “Hamilton considers these mock drills to be an important and essential part of the college’s emergency preparedness efforts,” said Director of Campus Safety Francis Manfredo.

As in previous years, many local and state emergency responders participated with the College in the drill. These agencies included:

  • New York State Police
  • Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COCVAC)
  • Clinton Fire Department
  • Mercy Flight Central
  • Hamilton College

Representatives from the following organizations observed the exercise and evaluated the emergency response teams’ performance:

  • New York State Police
  • New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
  • New York State Office of Emergency Management
  • Faxton St. Luke’s EMS

Approximately 30 individuals from the campus community were recruited as actors in the emergency scenario, and many proved to have impressive skills as thespians.

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