 |
Do staff
members have immediate lockdown capability in classrooms
and other locations?
Every schoolroom should be considered as a potential safe haven. It should be
possible to lock the door during a crisis without entering a danger zone. Building
and fire codes require an outward-opening door if room capacity goes beyond
a specified number of occupants. If the room serves a small group, it may be
possible to install and inward-opening door. This would be advantageous in
circumstances where occupants want to close the door without first stepping
into the hallway. The teacher should be expected to keep the key on their person
while on duty.
Each room should have a reliable
communication device in it, usually an intercom or telephone.
The system needs to have the capacity for conference calling,
so that many classrooms can be online with the office simultaneously
during a crisis. The office should have the ability to tell
everyone, immediately, to lockdown, relocate, or evacuate.
Many times, schools will have working equipment in some rooms,
but not in others. Gymnasiums, playgrounds, parking lots,
and bathrooms are frequently left disconnected from the public
address system.
Ideally, if a 911 call is placed from a classroom, an enhanced
911 system will identify the location. Unfortunately, when
calls come from multi-line systems, this is often not an
option; the emergency dispatcher only knows that the call
came from somewhere in the school. Alarm systems often have
similar weaknesses, identifying only an address or a large
zone. Check with your local emergency services or alarm dispatcher
to determine the limitations of your system.
Each room should be examined to determine where best to
take cover. Generally, the thicker and denser the material,
the better a shield it provides. If walls are all paper thin,
piled furniture may have to serve as a barricade. If planning
new construction, thicker materials up to six-foot point
in height should be used to provide shielding and walls.
Windows can be reinforced with security film, but this can
be prohibitively expensive. Thicker glass is generally safer,
but even bullet-resistant glass has its limits. Wire mesh
embedded in glass is not recommended. Students have suffered
severe injuries when they have accidentally put hands through
this type of glass, usually when it is set into the door.
Each location in the school will provide unique opportunities
and challenges as safe havens. Hallways are sometimes too
vulnerable to internal threats, in which case, students will
be better off retreating to a more enclosable space. Libraries
can serve well only if the securable, with thick furniture
and piles of books offering protection. Gymnasiums rarely
have communication devices in them or quick means by which
to secure doors. Finally, escape routes also must be considered.
An emergency exit door, or in some cases windows, should
offer alternative means of escape in a crisis.
|
