| A quick and effective response to a developing | | | | signals were no longer a problem. |
| urgent situation is the number one way to save | | | | The Red Cross in Rochester used a similar |
| lives and property. Disasters can strike like a | | | | approach to solve their problems. Their |
| tornado, fast and without warning. Even if there is | | | | emergency notification system was programmed |
| plenty of warning ahead of time, such as an | | | | to send a recorded message to an entire |
| incoming hurricane or during a heightened security | | | | database worth of contact numbers with the |
| alert, communicating information effectively to the | | | | press of a single button. The recipient could even |
| right people is still a challenging task. | | | | respond to the Red Cross with their availability |
| Emergency notification systems form the | | | | right through their own keypad. |
| cornerstone of saving lives during a crisis. Let's | | | | Keeping Tenants And Students Informed |
| take a look at some real life examples of how | | | | When a disaster occurs, the first thing most |
| communication can be performed to improve | | | | people do is clog the airways and telephone lines |
| emergency management. | | | | with phone calls. When disaster response teams |
| Case Studies In Emergency Management | | | | commandeer the use of telecommunications |
| Virginia Tech University took a proactive approach | | | | infrastructure, most people are left in the dark |
| to emergency notification by implementing a | | | | when it comes to getting information. |
| multi-modal notification system, which includes the | | | | A skyscraper in Atlanta learned the hard way |
| use of LED displays among other methods. The | | | | that they had a similar problem. During a disaster, |
| LED displays are a highly effective means to draw | | | | the only method of mass communication was to |
| attention with audible alerts or color changes and | | | | ring the fire alarm. Hardly informative, a mass |
| can be seen from more than 100 feet away. | | | | emergency notification system was put in place. |
| Virginia Tech's decision to utilize LED notification | | | | This allowed emergency management personnel in |
| displays was in part based on the fact that these | | | | the building to use a web portal to send |
| displays were among the few functional | | | | messages in real time through text, email, web, |
| communication devices in the Washington DC | | | | and electronic placards. This effective system |
| Metrorail system after the attacks of 9/11. | | | | allowed all of the building's tenants to stay |
| The city of Rochester upgraded their emergency | | | | informed when a tornado unexpectedly struck |
| notification system in order to better | | | | Atlanta one March evening. |
| communicate with fire, police, EMT, and rescue | | | | Campuses have used emergency notification |
| personnel when calls were put in to 911. The old | | | | systems to disseminate information about how to |
| way of communicating was a paging system that | | | | combat this year's H1N1 flu. Faculty, students, and |
| required 167 separate phone calls to be made by | | | | staff were able to stay informed about potential |
| hand. This required a good amount of manpower | | | | outbreaks, dispel rumors and myths, offer tips to |
| that could be employed to better use elsewhere | | | | help prevent the spread of germs, and find out |
| while still having a relatively slow response rate. | | | | about a Mississippi university's vaccination options. |
| The solution was to remove the need for staff | | | | A university will use the same multimedia |
| to make all of these phone calls. An automated | | | | approach by posting messages onto placards |
| system was able to integrate voice, text | | | | while sending them via text, email, and web alerts. |
| message, and email capabilities to quickly send | | | | When every minute counts in a crisis situation, |
| messages to personnel through multiple devices. | | | | effective emergency management saves lives. |
| In this way, response rates improved and busy | | | | |