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Cole Hall (the single-story building pictured in the background) was the site of a shooting in which five students were killed at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb this past February.
(All photos courtesy of Northern Illinois University) |
Therefore, a “building-specific emphasis” is guiding NIU in its quest to further improve security and mass notification on campus. NIU is looking at all of its buildings individually for emergency preparation and mass notification because of each structure’s specialized purpose.
“We’re looking at whether someone should be assigned to lock the doors or open the doors, given the type of building it is and its use,” she said. “Does someone know where the disabled students may be in a given building who may need assistance with evacuation? And whose job is it? From a technology aspect, what’s necessary? If there’s a shooter and a fire alarm goes off, do I know what that means? Is it nuanced in its operation so different signals mean different things?”
Special attention is being directed to the residence halls. “All the residence halls include fire alarms, but their age and functionality vary widely,” Magara said. “We’ve had unfunded mandates for sprinklers, and we’re evaluating what we have as part of this process, too. We meet all codes, but when you add some of the required things, we need to evaluate what we have in place that enables us to communicate non-verbally.”
Further analysis shows why NIU’s reaction to the shooting was appropriate and successful.
“On Feb. 14, we had a plan and we had practiced our plan,” Magara said. “When I got word of a shooting, I had to make two quick phone calls. We had the authority to carry out that plan. There was no time to have a meeting. We needed to err on the side of giving people as much information as possible as quickly as possible, and it worked.”
Tags: A/V Notification, Mass Notification, Speakers and Strobes
Posted in Audible/Visible Notification, Cover Features, Education, Mass Notification, Winter 2008
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