Majority of Columbia Public Schools fulfilling monthly fire drills

Fire drills aren’t required currently by Missouri state law, but in a special report ABC 17’s Deborah Kendrick found several schools were violating their own district policy.

You might recall, when we told you about Jefferson City Public Schools failing to do monthly fire drills, some schools not even having on record one fire drill done for the whole 2016-2017 school year.

ABC 17 News sunshine requested more than a dozen schools in mid-Missouri to find when drills were being conducted. Columbia Public Schools didn’t have the information readily available when the special report aired.

Since then, ABC 17 News dug through their fire drill records that show a majority of the schools within the district were following the monthly fire drill requirements for the 2016 to 2017 school year. According to the records, ABC 17 News got, several schools showed some dates missing during the winter months.

Columbia Public Schools Spokesperson, Michelle Baumstark told ABC 17 News in the past, it’s important that students feel safe at schools, and know what to do during an emergency situation.

ABC 17 News is waiting to hear back on an official comment regarding some of the schools that are missing drill dates.

We will update this story when we learn more.