Northumberland Regional High School principal Matthew O’Toole presented a flaw in the school’s evacuation and relocation plan, otherwise known as Code Black, to Pictou County council.
The school’s Code Black muster point is the Alma Fire Department. To reach this point, 1,100 people (students and staff) have to move down Alma Road, cross Highway 4, and make their way to the fire hall on the other side so that they can safely be picked up by buses and other forms of transportation.
“This year, we had about 500 students participate in a drill. It was the biggest one that we’d ever done. And it became very clear while we were doing this drill that the path on Highway 4 from the crosswalk to the loop is not safe for 500 or a thousand students to be moving along,” said O’Toole.
In a series of pictures presented to council, he showed that on certain stretches there is no sidewalk for kids to follow, meaning to avoid walking on the highway they needed to walk through ditches and lawns.
During the winter, when there are snowbanks piled up on either side, O’Toole said, there would be nowhere for them to walk.
“So, our concern is this. If there were to be an urgent situation, that road would have to be kept clear for two reasons. No. 1, so that the kids would be safe, and No. 2, so that emergency vehicles would be able to go up and down Highway 4 and get to the school if they had to. We don’t feel that that is possible for us to do without some place there for the students to go during that transition,” he said.
O’Toole’s suggested solution was that the municipality build a sidewalk along the stretch from the crosswalk to the Alma Loop so that students and staff can evacuate safely in the event of a real emergency.
District 8 Coun. Boyles asked O’Toole what might cause a Code Black, to which he replied that it could be a chemical spill or a fire big enough to risk a serious explosion. Essentially, an emergency where students would not be returning to the school that day.
O’Toole went on to explain the rationale for why the school selected the fire hall for its muster point, stating that it is the only place that would provide adequate shelter if the students needed to stay there for a time, while also allowing for buses to come pick them up.
The presentation was received without any councillors openly stating their disapproval.
The request will likely be brought up during budget deliberations.
