INDIANAPOLIS -- On Monday, Indiana state lawmakers will reconsider how students react to fire alarms in the wake of their increasing use by school shooters to flood hallways with targets.
A proposal in front of the state legislature would allow schools to wait 3 minutes after a fire alarm activates before evacuating classrooms. During those minutes, a designated staff member will determine whether there’s actually a fire.
The proposal comes three months after the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which a fire alarm was used to put students and staff in the gunman’s path.
Beech Grove City Schools Superintendent Dr. Paul Kaiser says he’ll assign a teacher to every fire alarm if one is pulled.
“When the fire alarm goes off, you want your students to get outside the building because of safety,” Kaiser said. “But at the same time, based on what’s happened in the past, there’s a little bit of caution to that.”
RTV6 asked fire experts if they have concerns about the difference three minutes could make in a real fire.
“Prior to 1970, we had tragic fires in school buildings,” said Tom Hanify, of the professional firefighters union of Indiana. “But they’re building schools better – better tech, better alarm systems – and we’re not losing children in [school fires]. However today in 2018, we’re losing children differently.”
The proposal would have the state fire marshal provide written guidance to each school on how to follow fire safety requirements and keep students safe in the event of an active shooter.
The proposal would also require charter and private schools to adopt a school safety and emergency plan. Currently, state law only requires that of traditional district schools.
MORE TOP STORIES |More than 35,000 pounds of ground beef sold at Kroger stores in Indiana recalled for contamination | Dozens of Indianapolis area concerts discounted to just $20 for National Concert Week | Body found on Indy's southeast side identified as missing 35-year-old man | Mother wants answers after day care cliams another child beat up her 1-year-old son | State closes Indianapolis day care after 1-year-old seriously hurt
Top Trending Videos
