Several weeks prior to the Shakeout Drill, the employees at Boshart Engineering in Ontario practiced Drop, Duck and Cover and meeting in the cul-de-sac out front following the practice drill. We've instituted a Buddy System where employees are responsible for two other employees and all are to report in to 1 of 3 managers in case of any emergency. We also showed pictures of the Northridge quake as well as the Chino quake which we all felt and even had temporarily lost cell phone coverage. We also talked about how to anchor furniture, what to have on hand at home, work and in the car. Many discussions were held prior to the big day and all said they were "ready!"

On October 15, at precisely 10:15, we played crashing sounds over the pubic address system and yelled "EARTHQUAKE!" The 3 managers turned off all the lights and went from office to office checking to make sure all employees were in compliance. Prior to the drill, we put small candy bars under the desks as a treat for participating. After 2 minutes of drop, duck and cover we released the employees and they were to report to the cul-de-sac. Once we met, we realized we had 4 missing employees and identified them as "injured." We sent in 4 rescuers and they found the injured and brought them to safety. We talked about what could happen had it be a real quake and how this practice can only make you less afraid because you now what to do. It was a good drill and all came away with a sense of "yes, I do know how to react and I do know what to do just in case."