The University of the Virgin Islands recently acquired and installed outdoor electronic sirens and emergency broadcast systems for both of its campuses to provide timely warnings to students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency. On St. Croix, the outdoor broadcast system is located near the entrance of the North West Wing Annex. A similar system is located in the rear parking lot of the Quarters B building near the Library on the St. Thomas campus.
UVI's Security Department will conduct training and testing of the new warning systems this week. Testing and training on the St. Croix campus is scheduled for Tuesday, March 9, and Wednesday, March 10. On the St. Thomas campus, training and testing is scheduled for Thursday, March 11, and Friday, March 12.
During testing, the campus communities and surrounding areas can expect to hear different siren tones established for various types of emergency situations as well as test broadcast messages. The University will continue testing the systems over the course of the next few weeks to familiarize the campus communities with the various siren tones, their associated warning significance and the appropriate emergency measures to be taken for each emergency. The campus community and the community at large will be notified in advance of scheduled testing.
First-responder agencies such as VITEMA, the VI Police Department, Fire Services, the Port Authority and FAA officials have been invited to observe the testing demonstrations of the systems.
For more information call (340) 692-4155 on St. Croix or (340) 693-1144 on St. Thomas.