EvCC has installed new orange emergency buckets in Gray Wolf Hall classrooms as a push for stronger preparedness in the event of a emergency.

Each five-gallon bucket includes emergency water, which has a shelf life of five years, hand sanitizer, a first-aid kit, a flashlight, a whistle, a permanent marker, a space blanket, toilet paper, plastic bags, an emergency resource guide and a map of the campus.

"The reason I proposed this to our administrators is because there was funding through the new building to actually be able to purchase [these materials]," said Jene Ladke, director of campus health, safety and security.

Although these buckets are currently only located in Gray Wolf, Ladke says expansion is a possibility for the future, if the funding is there.

"The cost of each bucket was around $20," Ladke said. "So when you start adding up that we need to do buckets all over campus, your talking about thousands of dollars."

It cost the school about $1,000 to purchase a total of 35 buckets and materials. Thirty-two of these buckets are located in classrooms and the extra three are kept in the security office.

"Right now this is sort of a trial; we want to see how people respond to the buckets," said Ladke. "I think people see it as something necessary, like a fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, that should be left in the classroom for exactly what it's designed for."

Ladke, who has been involved with emergency preparedness during the last few years, says that he tried to find items that would be durable, last over long periods of time and don't require a lot of maintenance.

It would be good for faculty and students to get familiar with the buckets and the materials included in order to be more prepared for an emergency. Each bucket is placed in plain sight and is easy to locate.

"I think it would be great if, at the beginning of the quarter, the instructor and the students were to open it up and take a look at what's inside of it." Ladke said.

The school is working on pushing more fire drills and more lockdown drills. "It's not just having good plans," said Ladke. "You need to practice your plans in the form of drills and exercises."