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ACSM Bulletin online
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ACSM Bulletin | June 2008 | #233
Schools safer with U.S. DHS certified technology
—Prepared Response, Inc.
More than 2,000 school campuses in 270 school districts across the country are using Prepared Response, Inc.’s Rapid Responder® crisis management system to protect their students and staff.
The Rapid Responder system provides campus officials, police, fire, and other first responders with critical information that allows them to act quickly, decisively, and in a coordinated manner.
Implementation of the system included pre-planning meetings between school officials and first responders, “digital mapping” of the school buildings, and system training for both school staff and responders. Police, fire and other agencies responding to an emergency are able to view more than 300 data points including floor plans, satellite and geospatial information, interior and exterior photos, emergency plans, hazardous materials locations, utility shut-offs, and evacuation routes.
Since 2000, Prepared Response, Inc. has worked with government agencies at all levels to develop the technology. In 2007, the statewide campus safety program in Washington State, which makes full use of the Rapid Responder, received the Harvard/Noblis Innovations Award in Homeland Security.
Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools in Virginia installed the Rapid Responder in all of the district’s 19 elementary, middle, high schools and administration facilities in June.
“The potential help in an emergency available with Rapid Responder is a huge advantage, not only for the predictable emergencies like tornadoes and hurricanes, but for unexpected emergencies that may arise,” said Alan Robertson, W-JCC Facility Manager.
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