Students crowded the halls for school safety drills in Escanaba

ESCANABA, Mich. (WLUC) - Students calmly walked out of classrooms Wednesday for the first fire drill of the year at Escanaba Jr/Sr High School.

Wednesday was the first day of the year, and school staff said it’s never too early to practice safety. Michigan state law requires 10 safety drills a year for K through 12 schools.

Staff said the high school knocked out four of the ten drills today, starting with two lock-down drills that covered both non-emergency and emergency situations.

The school’s assistant principal said having drills on day one is important.

“This is all the safety stuff we’re going over on day one,” Assistant Principal Jason Micheau said. “Heaven forbid something happened, but everyone’s going to be aware of it. 7th to 12th graders have been here, unless they’re new to us, but [for] the sixth graders, this is an entirely new building, so there’s different routes.”

The school also had a severe weather drill.

Micheau said seniors who went to Escanaba Area Public Schools starting from kindergarten will have participated in 130 total drills by the time they graduate.

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