Cellphone app aims to improve communication during school emergency
Developer makes S.A.F.E. app free to school districts in state
Developer makes S.A.F.E. app free to school districts in state
Developer makes S.A.F.E. app free to school districts in state
A new cellphone app aimed at keeping students safe during an emergency is being made available to New Hampshire schools.
The app is called Safety Alerts for Education, or S.A.F.E., and it was created by Nashua-based Ping4.
Link: Download SAFE app
"The app was developed basically with global usage in mind for homeland security and emergency management at the state level," said Jim Bender, CEO of Ping4.
Bender is donating the service to all New Hampshire schools. Once a district signs up, administrators can push alerts to staff, students and parents.
"Let's say you're a parent, and you have four children in four different schools," Bender said. "You set a watch location for each one of those schools."
Perry Plummer, director of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in New Hampshire, is chairman of the governor's task force on school safety. He said the app fills a gap in some schools' emergency plans.
"When we looked at a lot of the action plans or a lot of the after-action reports, there was a gap in communication," Plummer said. "People didn't know if their child is safe or where to pick them up, and this will communicate that to parents."
The S.A.F.E. app can provide an added benefit to law enforcement agencies.
"We issue cellphones to each cruiser and to members of the staff, so this gives us the opportunity to have information as quick as it's occurring," said Franklin Police Chief David Goldstein.
Parents said they would like to have access to real-time updates during an emergency.
"It's not like, 'Oh, we have to wait and see what's going on,'" said parent Rickardo Becerra, of Manchester. "All parents are given the alerts, and they're being able to get there quicker to the schools to get their kids out of danger."
Manchester is the only school district to sign up for the app so far. The service hasn't officially launched yet, but the app is free to download, so parents and students can have it ready.