A former student armed with pipe bombs put Hillsdale High School’s disaster plan to the test yesterday — a plan San Mateo Union High School District officials said operated smoothly.

The plan, however, does not call for a teacher or any other staff member from putting themselves in danger as was the case yesterday morning when a teacher allegedly tackled 17-year-old Alex Youshock.

Youshock, who was armed with several pipe bombs strapped inside a vest he was wearing when the unnamed teacher subdued him. Two pipe bombs detonated on campus before Youshock was apprehended.

“That’s not part of the plan,” said Kirk Black, associate superintendent of administrative services for the high school district. “What the teacher did is not recommended.”

Black said, however, the teacher’s actions could have saved lives.

“I’m not going to disparage the teacher for taking that action. It was a quick decision made at the spur of the moment. He put himself before the students,” Black said.

District Trustee Dave Pine was pleased with how well the disaster plan was implemented at Hillsdale yesterday. “We are very fortunate no one was injured,” Pine said.

Since the tragedy at Columbine High School in Colorado just more than 10 years ago, school districts across the country have updated and conducted more disaster drills to be better prepared for these types of emergencies, Black said. Twelve students and a teacher were killed at Columbine by two students armed with guns, rifles and 99 improvised explosive devices.

“We update and implement the plan every April,” Black said.

The disaster plan is in place for all kinds of potential emergencies including earthquakes, flu pandemics and when someone comes on to a campus with the intent to do harm.

“All the drill practice in the past made yesterday’s evacuation run smoothly,” Black said.

When an intruder such as Youshock comes on to campus, students and teachers are advised to lock down in place. Classrooms are locked, the lights are cut and the curtains are drawn. Special Columbine locks prevent entry to a room and a teacher should not open the classroom until given the OK by telephone.

Some school districts implement secret codes so an administrator knows for certain they are talking to an actual teacher.

Immediately after yesterday morning’s incident, an automated telephone system dialed more than 2,000 numbers of parents with instructions on how to pick up their children.

Yesterday’s message stated the incident briefly, let parents know all students were OK and to pick them up at nearby Abbott Middle School.

“Accounting for all the students is very important,” Black said.

Teachers and administrators are split into groups during disasters including first aid, student release, search and rescue and site security.

More than 1,200 students were safely evacuated, parents were notified immediately and no one was injured at the school.

The search and rescue aspect of the disaster plan was not needed yesterday, though, because of the quick response of the San Mateo police and fire departments.

“We are very lucky to go through a real case like this without any injuries,” Black said. “The district might include text messaging as well in the future to inform parents.”

Director of Attendance and Welfare KindyLee Stumpp arranged for counselors from the county’s mental health services department to be on the Hillsdale campus to meet with students or teachers who may need to talk.

News of the incident swept over other school districts in the county yesterday that have similar disaster plans in place.

The Sequoia Union High School District recently updated all of its emergency plans and purchased new communications equipment to be better prepared for disasters.

“We are prepared as anyone can be. We just hope it never happens in our district or anywhere,” said Jim Lianides, assistant superintendent of administrative services for Sequoia.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.