This was a test. This was ONLY a test. And everybody passed.

Explorer West Middle School was put through an earthquake drill recently and the private school's 70 students were supervised by the school's faculty and staff and overseen by Fire Chief Scott LaVielle and battalion chief Roger Anderson of the North Highline Fire District.

The drill started at 9:15 a.m., when the "earthquake" struck. Within three minutes, all but two students were evacuated from the school buildings. Four minutes later those two were scooped out of the bathroom and brought out to the front lawns staging area to join the others.

By 9:50 a.m. "tent city" was set up by students as temporary housing with the assumption that the school buildings would be uninhabitable.

All parents were notified by 10:30 a.m. through a "phone tree" of three staffers. They had been told days in advance about the simulated crisis, and it was noted that most phoned responded by answering machines.

The students were triaged, or separated, into three categories, "red," "yellow," and "green," in three staging areas. There were three students with major injuries in the red zone, while eight bruised kids were in the yellow zone. The green zone occupants were lucky, and escaped injury.

History teacher and communications contact, Ben Wheeler, said that while the drill was serious business, there was a component of enjoyment for the students with a break in routine, especially getting "tent city" organized, which reminded the kids of a big slumber party. "Our school has an excellent outdoor education program, and these kids are very familiar with camping, and set up tents quickly," he said, adding it was an added thrill for the "red students." "They'll always remember 'I got to be injured.'"

One girl with a "severed" arm was led to the medical supplies in the red zone, followed by a boy with a pencil that appeared to be pierced halfway through his arm. He seemed proud of his injury, showing off his arm to try to gross out classmates, but was encouraged by teachers to act serious, and in character.

Headmaster Evan Hundley, whose roll was incident commander, explained, "Our drama and science teacher teamed up to create these gory effects. They spent 45 minutes on the make-up."

Wheeler recalled last year's rain-plagued drill. "The 'green' kids in the tents ate snacks, played cards, and kept each other company while we were draping tarps over the red and yellow area to keep the injured and first aid supplies dry," he said.

"Today, because it's hot and sunny, we are concerned that everyone is hydrating. We are still using the tarp because it could rain during a real earthquake." He also pointed out that the fun and games in tent city help to distract the kids from fellow 'yellow' and 'red' students being attended to across the lawn.

"We have enough supplies for 72 hours," said Wheeler. "I worry that a real earthquake could seriously damage the West Seattle Bridge and Alaska Viaduct, and our school would be cut off from some rescuers."

The drill's last act included a minute-by-minute progress report read by Hundley to all the participants. His report seemed to indicate the plan ran smoothly.

Fire Chief LaVielle addressed the students directly. "Just treat these drills like anything else in life, like it's the real thing, because you never know when it's going to be a real disaster." He added that in an actual crisis, the fire department would do a "windshield survey" of their school, which establishes a basis of prioritizing response to injuries. "Take this as a good lesson," he said. "You kids are lucky to have such an awesome faculty, staff, and each other."

Battalion chief Anderson agreed, and had the last word, "You all did a great job separating the 'reds,' 'yellows,' and 'greens.' Your school was better organized than most we've seen. And that's a big help because it allows us to more quickly move on to the next school."

Steve Shay may be contacted at steves@robinsonnews.com