Rubber Division prepares for unexpected, even fire alarms

PITTSBURGH—When it comes to the International Elastomer Conference, the ACS Rubber Division team prepares for everything.

Even fire alarms.

So when the fire alarms sounded shortly before 1 p.m. Oct. 7—the final day of the 2021 IEC—and a recorded announcement repeatedly asked guests to leave the building due to a "fire emergency," all that planning mattered.

"Our safety protocols kicked in," a Rubber Division spokeswoman said. "Our goal was to evacuate safely and get (everyone) out of the building as quickly as possible."

IEC attendees quickly and calmly evacuated the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with guidance from Rubber Division staff and security.

Within 20 minutes, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, which had sent multiple trucks and crews to the location, had cleared the building, giving conference-goers approval to return, a Rubber Division spokeswoman said.

According to fire department reports, no fire or smoke was detected at the conference center or attached parking garage, so the alarms simply needed to be reset.

At the time the alarms sounded, the Rubber Division was hosting students from Pittsburgh-area high schools, offering them a glimpse of the rubber industry. Lakisha Miller-Barclay, Rubber Division executive director and CEO, and Heather Maimone, Rubber Division membership and outreach director made sure they exited safely.

Miller-Barclay and her team know about being cool under pressure. Miller-Barclay has guided the Rubber Division through a global pandemic, organized a virtual IEC last year and planned this year's in-person IEC amid on-going COVID-19 concerns.

So how did the Rubber Division plan an in-person conference in the middle of an on-going pandemic? Patiently. Nimbly. And with a whole lot of data and information.

To pull it off, everyone had to remain flexible. Sure, there were plans that fell through—the Women of the Rubber Division event was put on hold, for instance—but overall things came together rather well, she said.

"We expect the unexpected and that is what (COVID-19) has taught us," Miller-Barclay said. "We had a COVID task force that met quite frequently. I would update them and they would make decisions. And I would update them again and they would make more decisions. Things like that have made it very easy for us to stay nimble and that is why we were able to pull things off."

The Rubber Division expected the 2021 IEC to be on the smaller side. And while it wasn't as big as the team had hoped when it began preparations for the event early in the year, the staff was encouraged by the support the industry showed.

About 1,900 registered for the technical conference and expo, bringing hundreds from across the industry together at a time when it was most needed. After a year of virtual meetings and seminars, Miller-Barclay said, the industry was ready to meet in-person again.

"There are some industries that could go virtual and never see each other in person again. I don't think the rubber industry has that capability and that's a good thing," she said. "Our people want to have in-depth conversations with their presenters, they want to talk to people on the (expo) floor, they want to learn what makes their equipment different than the next person's. I don't think that can be replaced with something virtually, it has to be something in-person."

You can bet that the Rubber Division team has big ideas for the 2022 International Elastomer Conference, set for Oct. 10-13 in Knoxville, Tenn.

"If all fares well, and the vaccines continue to roll out—if we are able to tamper down the wildfires of COVID as it sparks up, and there is more of a calm across the country and internationally the borders stay open—I think it will be a phenomenal even-year show," Miller-Barclay said.

"We have never been to Knoxville before, so people are curious and interested to see if it will be a good fit."