The Virginia Tech tragedy served as a wake-up call for most U.S. campuses. In August 2008, the government provided support in terms of a new public law: the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008, an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which is required of schools that receive federal funds.
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which includes amendments to the federal Jeanne Clery Act, states that schools also must provide “timely warnings” when an emergency or threat is present on campus.
Because minutes can mean the difference between life and death, the new law now requires campus officials to notify the campus community immediately upon confirmation of a significant emergency, unless issuing the notification would compromise containment efforts. In the case of the Virginia Tech tragedy, for example, two hours passed between the discovery of the shooter’s first two victims in a dormitory and when the university issued its alert.
In addition, the amendment calls for colleges to create policies explaining evacuation procedures and emergency response. Federally funded college and universities would be required to publish fire safety reports yearly, including the cause of campus fires and the number of fires and fire-related deaths.
These efforts would:
• Boost campus safety and disaster readiness plans
• Help all colleges develop and implement state-of-the-art emergency systems and campus safety plans, and require the Department of Education to develop and maintain a disaster plan in preparation for emergencies
• Create a National Center for Campus Safety at the Department of Justice
• Establish a disaster relief loan program to help schools recover and rebuild following a disaster
The new law compels universities and colleges to use state-of-the-art methods and technologies to improve campus security. The most integrated solutions are emergency communications systems (ECSs), which are becoming an integral part of both emergency and non-emergency communications for schools and organizations of all sizes. This is because an ECS is not simply a loudspeaker system; communication is only part of the solution. True ECSs involve a lot more than text messaging and intercoms. They involve integrated response to emergencies at every level of the school — a communications and emergency management tool.
ECSs can broadcast live, up-to-the minute emergency information to everyone in a building, campus, or multiple facilities spread across a large area to prevent injuries and save lives.
In addition to crime alerts, an ECS can warn people of severe weather, such as tornados or hurricanes; class cancellations because of a power failure, a gas line or water main break, or other utility problems; and biological and radiological accidents, or hazardous spills.
Tags: Mass Notification
Posted in Cover Features, FIRE/LIFE SAFETY CODES, Mass Notification, Summer 2010
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