State Unveils Kit to Help Schools Deal With Shootings

If a Columbine High School-style shooting emergency occurs at a California campus, among the first things the principal should do is call the local Federal Aviation Administration office, a new state study recommends.

Why? Because news helicopters can swarm to the scene and impair law enforcement’s ability to quickly respond to the developing crisis, the study says. The FAA is the only agency empowered to open and close airspace.

As another step in dealing with a school emergency, the study calls on school officials to shut off fire alarms and sprinkler systems. This enables emergency personnel to hear each other and ensure that sprinkler water does not impede escape routes for fleeing students and teachers.

State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer and Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin on Monday announced these steps as part of a 20-point “toolbox” of actions to deal with emergencies like the Columbine siege a year ago that took the lives of 12 students and a teacher.

The kit, based on tragic lessons learned from Columbine and shootings at other schools, will be sent next month to all 8,331 public schools in California and to local law enforcement agencies, fire departments and other agencies.

Each school will fashion a plan to fit its own needs, but Lockyer’s prototype box contains such items as an aerial photo of the campus; maps and blueprints of the school; a master key; staff and student rosters, including photos; emergency phone lists; shut-off procedures for fire alarms, sprinklers and utilities; and emergency evacuation sites.

Under the program, one version of the box, to be updated regularly, will be kept on the campus while identical copies are stored by police, sheriffs, fire departments and other emergency agencies, Lockyer said.

In case a school shooting does occur, such as happened in Stockton in 1989 and in Olivehurst, north of Sacramento, in 1992, authorities will work from identical information to coordinate a response and reduce confusion, Lockyer announced at Golden State Middle School in West Sacramento.

The recommendations were compiled by a 23-member task force of educators, law enforcement experts, community organizations and students as part of a continuing campaign aimed at preparing for and preventing campus shootings and other emergencies. The group was appointed in February 1999, two months before the Columbine killings.

The task force surveyed a variety of experts, including police officials in Littleton, Colo., site of the Columbine killings, and in communities in Mississippi, Kentucky and Arkansas where fatal school shootings also have occurred.

Lockyer said the officials were asked, “What did you discover you needed in the middle of the emergency that you wish you had thought about beforehand?”

They responded with a flurry of recommendations, including making an immediate call to the FAA to clear airspace, and switching off fire alarms in non-fire emergencies.

“As soon as the news media learns of a disaster, they send their helicopters and it’s the last thing you’ll need to gain control of the situation,” said Capt. James Carmody of Port Huron, Mich., whose department averted a potentially disastrous shooting. “The noise factor alone makes it difficult for people to hear on the ground.”

At Columbine, fire alarms made it difficult for police and other emergency response members to hear directions, the task force noted in a report. It urged that more than one person know how to shut them off, which “could prove vital.”

“During the incident at Columbine, no one was readily available who knew how to immediately turn off the sprinkler system. As a result hallways quickly filled with water, making it difficult to escape,” the report said. It recommended that at least two people be trained and assigned to shut off sprinklers.

Since 1997, California schools have been required to write and implement a comprehensive safety plan, including a disaster and emergency response program. Lockyer said the “toolbox” helps schools meet that requirement.

The study is available on the state Department of Justice Web site at https://caag.state.ca.us.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Responding to Crisis

State officials will give each California school an emergency box containing items such as those listed below. Plans call for local police and fire authorities to have them as well.

* Aerial photo of campus

* Maps

* Campus layout

* Blueprint of school buildings

* Teacher/employee roster

* Keys

* Fire alarm shut-off procedures

* Sprinkler system shut-off procedures

* Location of utility shut-off valves

* Gas line and utility line layout

* First aid supplies

* List of designated command posts

* Cable television shut-off procedures

* Student photos

* List of evacuation sites

* List of students with special needs