USC Students in Parkside International Residential College and Parkside apartments were evacuated Monday in a fire drill. The drill was done to make sure the USC community knows what to do in case of a fire on campus.

The fire alarm went off around 1 p.m. on Monday, and the L.A. Fire Department responded like they would to a real fire with injured students. Firefighters climbed onto the roof of the dorms and the apartments to see how fast they could respond.

“I think that this drill shows that USC is prepared, that as an R.A., as a part of the office of residential education and the student body that we are prepared if a fire was to happen on campus,” USC Residential Adviser Tyler Vestal said.

USC Department of Public Safety and other emergency response teams set up a command post outside of Parkside I.R.C. and apartments to simulate what would happen during a real fire. DPS said there are fire drills every year on campus, and the purpose of this drill is to see what each emergency team will do to ensure campus safety.

“The drill was very successful. We were able to bring everyone together and talk through the different procedures on how we all work together, and that’s the key,” Steve Goldfarb from USC’s Fire Safety and Emergency Planning said. 

DPS said if there is a real fire or other emergency on campus, command posts will be set up where students can get help, and a trojan alert will be sent out to the USC Community.