By MARTY LEVINE
In response to two fake emergency calls earlier in 2023 that brought police looking for active shooters on campus, including within Hillman Library, Pitt’s safety office has now installed “panic buttons” in about 400 Pittsburgh campus classrooms and is busy making available a slew of new safety videos to go with increased safety training.
Ted Fritz, vice chancellor of the Office of Public Safety & Emergency Management, and Lt. Brad Kiefer of the Pitt Police gave what they termed a “sneak preview” of new safety and training modules at the most recent Staff Council Spotlight session on Aug. 7.
Fritz said that the police response to this spring’s false alarms was quick, and that “we were very satisfied with the response.” But the incidents did prompt his office to improve emergency communication to the Pitt community, he said, and to install physical safety measures (such as the panic buttons that can lock classroom doors and notify police) with the help of Pitt IT.
Office personnel are also creating more campuswide safety training with the help of the Office of Communications — “a plan that we will be rolling out throughout the year,” Fritz said.
Faculty and students will see one of three types of panic alarm buttons that are installed in classrooms, which include both wireless and hard-wired buttons, generally on doors or podiums. Once a button is pushed, the classroom can still be exited, but not entered, since they limit ID card access to the space.
A new video on the devices is available at the department’s emergency-focused website, alongside videos on everything from pedestrian and bicycle safety to theft prevention, scam prevention, bomb threats and fire safety. Building occupancy handbooks also are available for all Pitt buildings.
Fritz said his department is working on centralizing all of these resources, which are now divided among several websites: police.pitt.edu, safety.pitt.edu, ehs.pitt.edu and emergency.pitt.edu.
More trainings also will be offered to faculty and students in classrooms as well as to staff groups and at new-employee orientation.
The pair of presenters emphasized that, during active shooter incidents the “run, hide, fight” idea still should govern our thinking, and that Pitt Police should be contacted.
Those who would not be able to run from an area in an emergency are encouraged to set up an Individual Evacuation Plan with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, by emailing safety@ehs.pitt.edu or drsrecep@pitt.edu to reach Disability Resources and Services. The plans will help police and other first responders know when such individuals might be inside certain buildings and how best to aid them in any emergency.
Although all Pitt employees automatically receive safety and emergency alerts via Pitt email, the presenters also suggested signing up on your cellphone for Pitt’s voice and text alerts, which are also sent out via the Pitt Police Facebook and Twitter accounts.
They also recommended that Pitt employees download the Rave Guardian app, which is free from the Pitt App Center, Apple App Store or Google Play. It provides an easy way of communication with a network of friends, family and the Pitt Police emergency dispatch center, with chats and anonymous reporting available.
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
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