GSN_Nov-Dec_FINAL_Yumpu

Mass Notification/Disaster Response
Emergency24’s two-way, multi-media
mass-communications system
Traditional notification of an emergency
in a building usually is accomplished
with visual (strobe)
and audio (horn/speaker) indicators
while a central station operator
notifies the 911-dispatch center via
telephone contact and then makes
party calls.
That’s the end of the information
exchange.
A conversation, in comparison,
is two-way dialogue. That’s exactly
what’s needed to minimize the impact
of a severe emergency whether
it is in a school, office, hospital or
other facility that attracts generally
the same population each day.
By using your central station’s
advanced notification technologies,
you can open real-time communications
between offsite school
officials or building owners, onsite
teachers, students, building occupants
or tenants and security staff.
Real-time emergency information
and requests for help can come in
from the building while instructions
to building occupants can go
out.
For example, a teacher responding
to an emergency notification could
respond by text that there are injuries
in a certain location in
the facility. The paramedics
then know to go to that location
immediately instead of
sweeping through the building
to find people who need
medical assistance.
The same two-way communication
capabilities are
also available for community-wide
situations, such as a
HAZMAT event, boil-water
order or major road closure,
but instead of an alarm-system
trigger to initiate the
mass notification and emergency
communications (MNEC)
system, an administrator would
manually generate the event message
via an online portal. That message
would then be sent to citizens
who opted-in to receive E-mail,
voice or text alerts.
Consider Appropriate
Groups & Methods to Address
The increased occurrence of mass
shootings and other terror-type
events has led to new ways of thinking
when it comes to emergency
response. This level of response is
not intended for minor incidents
22
like a fistfight in a school hallway.
Response of this magnitude is for
situations like an active shooter or
when there are mass casualties, such
as during a tornado or other natural
disaster.
To establish protocols, alarm contractors,
local emergency-response
agencies and the school/office administrators
must collectively determine
who should receive what type
of information and when.
Having accurately segmented
contact groups is essential so that
the intended audiences receive information
that law enforcement