LOS ANGELES — A shocking report shows that half of the states don’t require schools and day care centers to have a disaster plan. The report from Save the Children, as quoted in USA Today, says that many states also don’t require evacuation plans and don’t have a system for reuniting children with parents after a disaster.
“Schools that don’t have an emergency plan are failing their students and putting their lives on the line,” said Ben Burns, Chief Executive of Discount Two-Way Radio which has created a comprehensive “Emergency School Planning Guide” so school administrators can communicate with confidence.
“We’re in the business of saving children’s lives,” he said. “We are experts in creating the right life-saving communications systems for schools and businesses and we take our responsibility seriously,” he said.
“Many schools make horrible mistakes when buying communications systems. They are easily misled by companies that sell complicated equipment that is difficult to learn – and hard to use when an emergency strikes,” he said. “We’re the Switzerland of communications professionals. We offer radio systems from many leading, name-brand manufacturers, so we can tailor a responsible communications system that matches the needs and the budgets of any university, school district or day-care center.”
The comprehensive Emergency Planning Guide will help schools follow a thorough response plan with 50 pages of guidelines, forms and checklists, including:
- A drill schedule for every emergency, including lockdowns
- A “phone tree” contact list so that each responder knows who they should report to
- Forms to assist responders on how to turn off utilities
- Instructions on how to set up a communication system with two-way radio response and “base” for the orderly dispatch of information
- Procedures to identify areas requiring patrol, first aid centers, and monitoring
- Step-by-step instructions to create an evacuation plan including routes, maps, transportation and destination points, and student release
This downloadable document is an extremely comprehensive guide that removes the randomness from security planning. Directors are taken through every stage and consideration of emergency response and lock down planning.
He advises school districts to get safe and reliable systems that are also easy to learn and to use.
“The worst time to learn how to use equipment is when a gunman is staring you in the face, or a tornado has just blown the roof off your school building,” he said.
For more information about the free resources, product line, visit www.discounttwo-wayradio.com.
