Personal Experience

One of the biggest problems we faced at the Sikh Temple of WI was alerting law enforcement of what was happening and where it was happening.

Not everyone was aware of the incident and barely were able to hide in time

Some people were unable to speak loud enough on their cell phones for the dispatcher to clearly hear them

Some people did not know the address

Some people knew the address but due to a heavy accent, the dispatcher had a difficult time understanding

Applications

Under the US Fire Administration is it required that public places have fire alarms and sprinkler systems in case of a fire. But we fail to create security measure for the public for active shooter situations. Even though children in elementary now also practice active shooter drills in addition to fire drills, there is no implementation of a system to help prevent the loss of life in active shooter situations.

It seems to be on the news every week, another mass shooting in another public place, especially schools and shopping malls.

An Emergency Response System would simply be a panic button installed as part of a fire alarm system. Instead of triggering both sirens and flashing lights as a fire alarm does, it would trigger the flashing light to make everyone else in the building aware of a possible situation and it would send a signal to local authorities of a possible situation and the location immediately.

Benefits

Safer method of communication - many victims in active shooter situations may not have access to a phone, or unable to speak, and potential of putting themselves or other in higher risk

Quicker Response Time - alerts local law enforcement immediately, allowing for first responders to arrive a quick as possible and not having to wait for a distressed 911 call who may not know what is going on and where they are located

Alerts people in the rest of the building - the flashing lights on the the existing fire alarm systems would alert everyone else in the the building

Victims may not know the address of their location - whether it be children in school or someone out with friends at a bar, they may not know the address or possibly even the correct name of the building where the active shooter situation is taking place

Victims may not have access to a phone or unable to speak - many children in school do not have phones, and when in public places many are discouraged to be on their phones such as libraries, this would provide a primary avenue of alerting authorities, while having phones as a supplement for those who are able to use their phones

Culturally Sensitive - having an emergency response system would bypass any potential language disability and language barriers