Emergency blog from The University of Washington Bothell

Category: Drills

Active threat DRILL ONLY

UPDATE, 10:05 a.m.: Thank you for participating in the active threat drill. In addition to the recommended actions earlier, you can further prepare by considering these steps, questions and resources: 

ORIGINAL POST: While incidents of active threats on campus are rare, they have a high and long-term impact. Planning on how to respond is important. 

During the drill, all students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to take five minutes to think critically about how you would respond to an incident where you are. 

Recommended actions include: 

  • Identify at least two emergency exits, including accessible pathways and the building emergency evacuation assembly area. 
  • Have a discussion about how you would “Run. Hide. Fight.” 
  • RUN: Escape if you can. Your first priority should always be to avoid a threat. If you do run take a route that minimizes the chance of encountering the threat and move quickly. 
  • HIDE: Running away may not be your best option. Find a place to hide out of view, lock and block/barricade doors if possible, close blinds, turn of lights, and silence cell phones. 
  • FIGHT: If you can’t run or hide, fight as a last resort to disrupt or stop the attacker. Be aggressive and commit to your actions. Use objects around you as makeshift weapons such as chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, laptops, books, etc. 
  • Practice quickly silencing all electronic devices while keeping them on to receive additional emergency alerts. 
  • Consider how you would help those in need of assistance. 

Posted April 14, 2026 10:00 am

ALL CLEAR. Thank you for participating in the Active Threat Drill. We hope it was a helpful exercise. 

If you did not receive a text alert about the drill, opt-in to receive UW Alerts to be notified of an incident on campus. 

A reminder about resources to help you prepare for future incidents: 

Posted May 6, 2024 10:16 am

Alert May 6, 10 a.m.: Active Threat DRILL ONLY. Secure in place. We will send an all clear after the drill.

During the drill, stay in your classroom or office and review/discuss how you would respond in a true emergency. 

If you are with people who did not receive a text alert about the drill, encourage them to opt-in to receive UW Alerts to be notified of an incident on campus. 

Other resources to review: 

Posted May 6, 2024 10:07 am

Today is the Great Washington Shakeout

shakeout

Today is the Great Washington Shakeout earthquake drill. In the event of an earthquake, remember to DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON.

As part of the statewide drill, UW Bothell is conducting a test of all emergency communications tools. In the event of a real emergency, updates will be posted on uwb.edu/emergency or cascadia.edu/services/emergency

Posted October 20, 2022 8:47 am

West Garage Construction Team Emergency Drill This Morning

Notice: Andersen Construction will be conducting an emergency evacuation drill at the West Garage Construction this morning, Friday, February 21st before 10:00am. An air horn will be sounded three times to signal the start of the drill. The entire drill is not expected to exceed more than 10-15 minutes in total time and should be concluded by 10:00am. This drill is only for the crew on the construction site and is not planned to impact normal campus operations.

Questions? Contact Ryan McIrvin

Posted February 21, 2020 9:58 am

Routine testing today

We're conducting routine testing of our emergency communication tools today. We use UW Alert to send email and text messages to the UW Bothell/Cascadia campus in case of emergency. Sign up for UW Alert here. Official information will be posted on www.uwb.edu/emergency.

Posted March 20, 2018 2:11 pm