College Evacuated Over Suspicious Equipment

Students and staff at the Vernon campus of Okanagan College were evacuated this morning

The college says a student noticed what they thought was suspicious equipment with wires sticking out, and notified security.

Spokesperson Christine Ulmer says administration decided to clear the building and call 911 for what was described as a bomb threat

“And by the time, emergency services arrived, and it was a very quick response, we had identified it was a piece of equipment one of our electricians had been working on and had placed on the ground whiloe he went to do something else,” Ulmer tells Kiss FM.

Ulmer says the incident lasted less than 20 minutes, but was a good exercise for the staff and students to go through, and reinforced their emergency plan.

“It wasn’t a test, but it ended up being a bit of a test. It’s nice to know we have students and employees who are aware of their surroundings, and are alerting people when they think there’s something that might be out of place,” adds Ulmer.