The Importance of Emergency Response Planning

What Can We Do?

Crises occur regardless of whether schools and districts have prepared for them.  They take the form of natural (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and chemical spills) and human-made disasters (shootings, stabbings, hostage taking, arson, bomb threats etc.)  Your school should have an Emergency or Crisis Plan which consists of a checklist of procedures to follow.  While each event has different procedures, one common denominator in every plan is the need to communicate or respond to the appropriate group(s) (i.e., police, faculty/staff, parents or guardians, media, etc.).  In the event that a crisis occurs, a prompt and effective response from school personnel can reduce trauma, bring order to chaos, and can even be the determining factor between life and death.

Preparing

When creating an Emergency Response Plan make sure to assign specific roles and responsibilities to faculty and staff during crises.  Prepare lists of emergency contact information for emergency services (police, fire, hospital etc.), school officials, and parents. 

Using Technology for Communication 

Phone trees, though they can be effective, are not efficient. It may take hours for an average school to contact every parent or guardian, via the traditional “phone tree,” especially those with multiple contact locations (i.e. home, office, cell etc.).

Technology has provided other modes of communication which can be very effective during a crisis. Some common tools that may be used include the following:   

1. Telephone - Although the telephone is the most commonly used communications tool in schools, most schools do not have enough lines and,  worse, service is typically lost when electricity is lost.





2. Computer Telecommunications - a relatively new tool, the potential capability of existing computers to be used for communication both within the school and to  other sites needs to be assessed as part of the preplanning process. E-mail or electronic bulletin boards may be a useful tool for updating information for staff, central office, other schools in the affected area, and possibly for other community  agencies.





3. Cellular Phones - increasingly available and affordable, the role of cellular phones as a communications tool needs to be carefully assessed. They may be the only tool working when electric service is out and are a particularly useful link to staff members who may be en route to or from the site of an accident or other emergency.





4. Fax machines - The fax machine is a potentially valuable tool for both sending  and receiving information in an emergency. In the case of off-campus accidents,  for example, lists of students and staff members involved, their locations, and  needed telephone numbers can be quickly and accurately communicated.  Medical information, release forms, and medical authorizations can be faxed, signed, and returned in emergencies.

Putting it All Together

Further advancements in technology have provided schools with a way to incorporate multiple modes of communication from one source – an Emergency Notification System.

While there are several reliable companies offering Emergency Notification Systems the Amfax ENS is a Turnkey system you can integrate easily into your Emergency Response Plan overnight.  It is fully functional right out of the box because there is nothing to install. It is available through the Internet at any location from any pc with web access. It is also available via any touch-tone phone, and even from your cell phone. You can use to deliver emergency alerts simultaneously to thousands within minutes; quickly and reliably via fax, email, phone and even sms (text). With its built in access to 39,000 phone lines, you can reach parents, guardians, faculty, and staff of any emergencies, or any broadcast message, no matter where they are almost simultaneously. With Amfax ENS you will reach every contact at any location within a matter of minutes.

Communication and public safety during crises should not be compromised by the time it takes to figure out how to contact key personnel. An Emergency Notification System not only simplifies your ability to execute normal operations and emergency management efficiently, but also helps by providing a basis for creating and easily maintaining an effective Emergency Response Plan.

Multipurpose Solution

Beyond the emergency messaging arena, such a system will also eliminate the many hours School staff may spend calling parents, sending home reminders for homework, field trips, fundraisers, club activities, conferences and other school activities.  An ENS system automates these time consuming processes and frees-up their time for more significant tasks.

For more information on incorporating an Emergency Notification System to your Emergency Plan, feel free to contact us at:

The Amfax Corporation

150 Beekman Street, 4^th Floor

New York, NY 10038

(800) US AMFAX