Yet another article about the ineffectiveness of current efforts to curb school shootings.  While we must continue to do all the things mentioned in this article, we also need to be prepared for when these events happen.  Safe Zone will alert and inform emergency responders within seconds, enabling them to respond faster, end the threat sooner, get faster treatment for victims, and reduce fatalities.  It's an affordable solution for saving lives.  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/31/2021-school-shootings-record/

This article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes the realities that today's students live with.

Forsyth student: My generation lives in daily fear of a school shooting (ajc.com)

In the article, the author makes the point that these incidents continue to happen.   When they do happen, it's incumbent upon everyone to have done everything possible to reduce the loss of life.   Safe Zone gunfire detection systems can reduce emergency response times, saving lives. 

Like most people, we're really looking forward to putting the last year in the rearview mirror.  2022 is going to be the breakout year for Safe Zone and indications are that January will come out of the gates strong!  Multiple new projects are on the horizon, and we will be sharing information about those as we are able to do so.  

We want to say thanks to everyone that has enabled us to get here and wish everyone a prosperous new year.  

Active shooters are a major concern for schools, businesses and houses of worship.  To prepare a response for these incidents, “Active Shooter Training” is conducted, often with less than desirable results.  Here are a few examples of training exercises gone wrong:  

Active Shooter Training Injures City Worker in Florida | Florida News | US News

Indiana teachers injured during active-shooter training - Bing video

Active Shooter Drill Gone Wrong Causes Panic at Maryland Hospital - Campus Safety (campussafetymagazine.com)

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence.  

Safe Zone has a better way.

With the issue of our latest patent, Safe Zone will be introducing Guiding Light.  Think of it as a traffic light that activates during an emergency event – active shooters or fires for example.  Simple, intuitive traffic lights are provided above doors and at hallway intersections.  In the event of an emergency, follow the green lights to safety and away from the threat areas.  If the light above a door is green, it’s safe to go through the door, then look for the next green light.  If the light above the door is red, do not go through the door.  The system will update status as the threat moves.  People are moved to “Safe Zones” in the quickest way possible, significantly reducing their risk during these incidents.  This is also a benefit to police and firefighters, as the system will lead them directly to the issue.

Guiding light works with Safe Zone’s gunshot detectors and interfaces with all major fire alarm, access control and other systems.  

Now, a routine emergency response drill prepares everyone for an emergency incident, eliminating the risk and panic of overly aggressive training.           

We are really excited about our new product training.  A new site with new, more comprehensive content that incorporates everything we've learned over the last couple of years.  The new training is built to address the most frequent questions we received from installers and addresses those issues directly to improve the whole process.  Safe Zone will be even easier than before.

While the site is expected to be live right after the new year (meaning it will link from our regular website), you can preview the site here:  safezone.talentlms.com 

Take a look.  What the heck, sign up and take the first course "Introduction to Safe Zone".  It's not too technical and will answer all your questions about how the system works and helps save lives.  

The desire to keep kids safe has spawned a multibillion-dollar industry promising to turn schools into fortresses.  It's not preventing the spread of mass shootings.  Oxford High School is a prime example of that effort.

(20) The Oxford mass shooting shows the limits of "hardening" schools / Twitter

Safe Zone gunshot detectors are a lower-cost, more effective alternative that provides real impact by saving lives.    

In a rare public advisory, the U.S. surgeon general urges the nation to address failing mental health among young people. “Our obligation to act is not just medical — it’s moral,” Murthy notes in the introduction. The report offers numerous recommendations to public health officials, advocates, government, educators, media, and other stakeholders, and urges the entire nation to take action.  

Safe Zone Technologies is helping to help speed effective first response to active and mass shooting tragedies.

One of the questions we often hear is “Why do you recommend so many more detectors in my building than your competitors do?”  

Let’s address the implied part of that question first. The laws of physics are the same for all gunshot detectors.  Sound works the same way for everyone, with consistent amplitude and decay characteristics in a given environment.  The same is true for the visual component of a muzzle flash.  The detector must “see” the gunshot to effectively use the information – that means line of sight to the firearm (in some applications reflections can extend the effective sensor range but are not as dependable as direct line of sight).  Most gunshot detectors on the market use these two components of the firearm discharge to identify a gunshot.  The bottom line is that any of the major gunshot detector systems can function in a given application and space.  In fact, the effective range specification of the available gunshot detectors is essentially the same. Differences between systems are how the data is managed and communicated to stakeholders.  

At Safe Zone we want to save as many lives as possible.  It’s understandable that more detectors in a space will deliver more information to law enforcement, especially when tracking an active shooter’s movements.  The higher density of detectors will provide redundancy in the event of an incident, improving reliability.  With the cost of Safe Zone so low relative to competitors, adding more detectors just makes sense.  However, if budget is a limiting factor, and it is acceptable to forego the extra protection, you can feel safe installing the same number of detectors knowing that the functionality of the system will be the same.   

We had a question about the cost of a  gunshot detection system for a school.  I was unable to upload an actual image of our example cost chart, so I thought to include it in an update.  Here's the chart:

As you can see from these real-world examples, the cost to most schools is less than $7.00 per student per year for the first four years.  Subsequent years are even less since the hardware and installation is already full amortized.