BluePoint Introduces Rapid Emergency Response System To Automate And Speed Law Enforcement Response Times For Schools During Crisis Situations

  • Apr 16, 2015

BluePoint Alert Solutions recently announced the industry's first Rapid Emergency Response System (RERS) that is specifically designed to speed the response times of law enforcement/first responders and notify building occupants when life-threatening incidents occur within schools and other facilities. Similar to a standard "fire alarm," occupants can activate a BluePoint pull station and instantly notify police of an emergency situation to expedite a rapid response. It also communicates internally to initiate emergency management protocols that are proven to save lives in times of chaos and crisis. BluePoint complements physical security systems and addresses the growing need to speed response times when an organization's most valuable asset - its people - are in harm's way.

"After the Sandy Hook event we had discussions with a local school superintendent who asked 'why don't we have a system like a fire alarm for alerting police faster and letting everyone in the building know that they need to take precautions?'" said John McNutt, co-founder and CEO for BluePoint. "Unfortunately, during armed intruder events, the entire building or campus does not even know an incident is unfolding until after it is over. Also, there are typically delays as panicked people try to contact 911 under extremely stressful conditions. The BluePoint system is designed from the ground-up to be as intuitive as pulling a fire alarm, yet more comprehensive in its alert and communications capabilities."

"BluePoint is the best intruder alert system available to schools. It allows any student or staff member the ability to notify occupants of an active shooter while simultaneously contacting police," said Kreg Wesley, Director of Operations for Sycamore School District #427. "The automated system is more efficient because it eliminates the human error when contacting police and notifying building occupants. Our students and staff are safer today because we have implemented the BluePoint alert system throughout our district."

BluePoint uses a highly secure 900 MHz wireless network that is completely dedicated to response alerts and is independent of other building systems. The wireless system covers the entire building or campus, plus any surrounding areas (parking lots, athletic fields, etc.). Once a wearable mobile device or pull station sensor is activated, an alert from monitoring partner EMERgency24 is immediately sent to local law enforcement with the building address and exact incident location using Visual Point Identification (VPI) technology. At the same time, building occupants are instantly notified to take precautions through PA or phone systems and mobile phones, as well as blue strobe lights inside and outside the building. It sends building occupants, security professionals and administrators a text and/or email notifications, as well as voice calls with pertinent data. The system also establishes a two-way communications flow between a central command group and building occupants. This automation helps panicked personnel act swiftly and reduces the response time of both law enforcement and building occupants.

"We have worked closely with law enforcement in the design of BluePoint, and they are strongly in favor of a dedicated system that will help speed both response times and the initiation of precautionary measures within the school setting," said BluePoint's co-founder and CMO, John Shales. "There is less confusion and the 'panic factor' is greatly reduced. They also like the fact that the system provides detailed information on where the incident is located so they know exactly where to go when they arrive on the scene."

The BluePoint Rapid Emergency Response System is available now directly from BluePoint and its partner network.

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