Lombard Schools Employ New Technology to Deal With Emergencies

Schools in suburban Lombard are among the first in the state to install a new alarm system that will more quickly and accurately alert first responders to potential emergencies.

The new emergency response system, developed by BluePoint Alert Solutions, combines a wide-range of technologies, including wearable mobile devices and user pull stations to notify police to a variety of emergencies and to warn appropriate individuals inside of the school buildings to ongoing situations.

The system alerts school staff via text message, and also provides information to local law enforcement and emergency responders.

“It’s extremely beneficial. You can’t have anything better,” Detective Brian Bastian of the Lombard Police Department said.

The system will cut response time in half, according to Bastian, who is the school resource officer at Glenn Westlake Middle School. The new system can be used for anything from a school shooting to a medical emergency inside one of the district’s eight buildings.

“For it to go straight to our cell phones, and to get that page within seconds, it’s lifesaving,” he said.

In addition to notifications, the system also provides authorities with access to live camera feeds from inside of the school, and pinpoints the location of an emergency situation within the building.

The system will be fully operational this week, according to school district officials.

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