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Sharing Information With First Responders
The planning process is not complete until the school EOP is shared with first responders. The
planning process must include preparing and making available to first responders an up-to-date
and well-documented site assessment as well as any other information that would assist them.
These materials should include building schematics and photos of both the inside and the
outside, and include information about door and window locations, and locks and access
controls. Emergency responders should also have advance information on where students, staff,
and others with disabilities as well as those with access and functional needs are likely to be
sheltering or escaping, generally in physically accessible locations, along accessible routes, or in
specific classrooms. Building strong partnerships with law enforcement officers, fire officials,
and EMS technician includes ensuring they also know the location of available public address
systems, two-way communications systems, security cameras, and alarm controls. Equally
important is information on access to utility controls, medical supplies, and fire extinguishers.
Providing the detailed information listed above to first responders allows them to rapidly move
through a school during an emergency, to ensure areas are safe, and to tend people in need. It is
critically important to share this information with law enforcement and other first responders
before an emergency occurs. Law enforcement agencies have secure websites where this
information is stored for many schools, businesses, public venues, and other locations. All of
these can be provided to first responders and viewed in drills, exercises, and walk-throughs.
Technology and tools with the same information (e.g., a portable USB drive that is compatible
with computers used by first responders) should be maintained at the front of the school, in a
lock box, or other secured location from which school officials can immediately provide it to
responding officials or first responders can directly access it. The location of these materials at
the school should be known by and accessible to a number of individuals to ensure ready access
in an emergency. Every building should have more than one individual charged with meeting
first responders to provide them with the school site assessment, the school EOP and any other
details about school safety and the facility.
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All parties should know who these key contacts are.
Exercises
Most schools practice evacuation drills for fires and protective measures for tornadoes, but far
fewer schools practice for active shooter situations. To be prepared for an active shooter
incident, schools should train their staff, students, and families, as appropriate, in what to expect
and how to react. If students are involved, to select the appropriate exercise the school should
consider the ages of the students. In a study of 84 active shooter events that occurred between
2000 and 2010, 34 percent involved schools.
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Good planning includes conducting drills which must include first responders and school
resource officers (where applicable). Exercises with these valuable partners are one of the most
effective and efficient ways to ensure that everyone knows not only his or her roles, but also the
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See also, http://www.ready.gov.
20
J. Pete Blair with M. Hunter Martaindale, United States Active Shooter Events from 2000 to 2010: Training and
Equipment Implications. San Marcos, Texas: Texas State University, 2013. Available at
http://policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/Blair-
UnitedStatesActiveShooterEventsfrom2000to2010Report-Final.pdf.