Reverse 911 Emergency Notification Solution Updates for School Safety
Whenever school administrators need to respond to emergencies to safeguard students, they are reminded of the essential role of communication. Whether warning students, faculty, staff, and parents about a potential bomb threat or mobilizing resources for inclement weather, they know manual and single-modal methods are not practical or effective. For this reason, many school districts are looking to the patented technology of EMMA by Think Safe as a reverse 911 notification solution that does more than just notification alerting.
Think Safe’s EMMA technology solves emergency communication and asset/logistics transparency issues for threats and emergency events via mass notification alerts, two-way communications plus emergency plan execution and management tools. The browser-based application combines database and GPS (mapping) technologies, enabling immediate and precisely targeted communication inside specific geographic locations, such as flood plains or fire-prone areas. It also automates simple, group-based notification procedures, quickly alerting administration or safety teams, 911 responders and even PSAP/CAD 911 dispatch providers, parent groups, and others that are directly impacted nearby any threat or emergency.
EMMA’s patented push notification technology push notifications are delivered as first priority through Apple and Google networks — ensuring messages get through even during high-volume data or heavy internet use time periods where traditional messaging platforms have delays. Users and groups receive an instant push notification alerting them of the present emergency and what to do. EMMA notifications are customizable with options to send via SMS and through email as well. For emergency responders, these communications may include situation details, approach instructions, safety precautions and access to important assets like floor plans and the location of trauma kits within the building. For students and school staff, they may provide safe exit, safe shelters, evacuation routes, active-shooter profile details and descriptions, or lockdown instructions. In all cases, the notifications sent by EMMA help local emergency personnel respond faster and are intended to help administrators, staff, students and parents feel more secure.
The problem with many reverse 911 products on the market is that they are standalone systems that only send outbound messages to landline telephones and registered cellphones within a geographic region. EMMA is not a typical reverse 911 system. It’s a two-way communication platform. When a user receives a notification, they can click on it to reveal the details of the emergency, respond (if permission is set by the administrator), and take informed actions while seeing critical updates in the EMMA Feed. Responses will share the user’s GPS location and improve the administrators’ ability to monitor the situation immediately even from afar with frontline perspectives via a SaaS platform and unique patented EMMA Administrator dashboard that can be accessed by administrators and emergency officials from any connected network or Internet-enabled mobile device.
In addition to the Mass Communication (with responses allowed) feature that exceeds reverse 911 technology, EMMA offers several other modules, including “See Something Say Something”, Anti-Bullying Reporting, EMMA SOS personal safety alarms and other needed safety features through this SaaS technology to save time and save lives and improve outcomes for critical events. Check out EMMA’s Critical Features for more information on what the platform can do for your school district.
