MOSES LAKE - Students at Big Bend Community College were caught off guard Tuesday when the college conducted a surprise evacuation drill.

Big Bend Community College Spokesperson Catherine Holestine said students knew a fire drill would happen sometime in the first quarter of the school year, but they did not know it was planned for Tuesday when the alarm sounded at 10 a.m.

"The goal of it was to see how simply, and quickly and efficiently we could evacuate all of the campus facilities in case of an emergency," Holestine said.

As students, staff and visitors filed out of classrooms and buildings, they were directed to parking areas away from the campus center.

The 23 occupied buildings were evacuated within 14 minutes, including the child care building, she said. Classes continued as scheduled after the drill was complete.

Holestine said in conducting the drill, the college was

complying with National Incident Management System recommendations.

It is the second time this year the ATEC building was evacuated. Earlier in the month, an evacuation occurred when a fire alarm at ATEC sounded, Holestine said.

"It went neat and orderly because the administrators in the building knew how to react in an emergency situation," she said.

The alarm was false, she said.