School Safety Photo Guide: A Learning Module

School buildings can be complex structures, with numerous halls and paths connecting various parts of the school to each other. This is particularly true when buildings have been altered, remodeled, and added on over the life of the building. Students and faculty quickly learn to navigate the halls but the uninitiated can quickly find themselves lost. This can create challenges for first-responders in an emergency situation where gaining access to a particular part of a building quickly is imperative.

Students can assist police and fire personnel by providing them with accurate visual images of important parts of the building. These images, when coupled with building plans that first-responders have access to can allow for quick and more effective use of life-saving time when assessing and implementing emergency actions.
With technology available today, many local first-responders have the ability to view in their vehicles photographic images of the interior of a school building. Having actual photographs of the interior can greatly assist in the navigation of unfamiliar or reduced visibility situations. Students work to identify key safety areas and take digital images of them. These images are given to the local emergency departments and loaded onto a secure system which only they have access to.

By taking ownership in the protection of their building, students gain valuable insight into the skills and valuable information emergency teams need to do their job effectively and safely. Additionally, students can gain a greater feeling of security knowing that this type of information is available to protect them in the event of an emergency situation. (authors)