In order to prepare students and staff for a real emergency situation, ROJH is taking part in a mock disaster drill Friday.

“The safety of our students is our No. 1 priority,” Red Oak ISD Police Chief Scott Lindsey said.

ROJH’s mock disaster drill will center around a simulated train crash with chemical fumes coming out of the box cars. Superintendent Scott Niven said ROJH is doing this disaster because emergency services picked the scenario and the school agreed with the choice. Niven appeared optimistic about the drill.

“I think it will go very well,” Niven said. “Why I think that is because we have good students and dedicated staff that want to do the right thing.”

During the disaster, there will be an external lockdown in the junior high, which means that no one is allowed outside of the school until the toxic wind switches directions. After the administrators announce that the students and teachers are allowed to evacuate to ROHS, they will load buses. According to Niven and Lindsey, this will all happen early in the school day. Niven said that the district is trying to help students understand what to do in an evacuation.

“They [students] will better understand what it would be like and what to do so there would not be near as much chaos in that situation, and I hope it helps you all [students] understand the level of safety that we want to have here in Red Oak,” Niven said.