Broadmoor Bluffs evacuation exercise prepares community

(COLORADO SPRINGS)– At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, phones were ringing for people living in El Paso County and Teller County to alert them about a planned test during an evacuation exercise.

“The time of a disaster is not the time to… try to figure out what you need for an evacuation plan,” said Andrew Notbohm the Director of Emergency Management for Pikes Peak.

Local public safety officials issued two test alerts during their evacuation exercise in the Broadmoor Bluffs area at 11:00 am on Saturday.

“We actually have an in-the-field exercise for first responders, who’re going out. They’re doing door-to-door evacuations and then simulating what an evacuation would feel like,” said Notbohm.

The drill was an effort to teach community members what to do in the event of an emergency.

“If you see smoke, get down on the ground and… make your way downstairs down to the front door,” says Ava McNair a girl who learned what to do in an emergency. “Then when you’re outside, go to the neighbor’s house and… phone 911.”

Officials say that having a plan can make a difference.

“The whole point is we need to make a better plan so that we don’t run out there with… records and Christmas ornaments and not have anything else to sustain on,” said Blake McNair, Ava’s father.

In an emergency one test will be a wireless alert, which is a notification from authorities at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. These alerts can be broadcast from cell towers to mobile devices within a specific area.

“They showed up within the window and they… talk us through some of the processes that, you know, how they would do the signaling, and so forth if there was a real fire. So it’s a really good learning experience so far,” added Blake McNair.

The other message will come from Peak Alerts .

“It is critical that you sign up for peakalerts.org at Peak Alerts. That’s how we get the communications out,” said Notbohm.

On Saturday police, Colorado Springs Fire Department, Red Cross, and numerous other vendors gathered at Harrison High School to continue the drill.

In the event of an emergency, near the Broadmoor Bluffs area, Harrison is the place to go.

“I was bringing my kids with us today, to just ensure, we have a plan in place at our house, that we know the city has a plan for us,” said Blake McNair.

For information on how to sign up for Peak Alerts click the links above.

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