Utah team develops alert system for school emergencies

Utah team develops alert system for school emergencies

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CACHE VALLEY — Columbine. Sandy Hook. No one needs to be told why these two schools, on opposite sides of the country, are noteworthy. Few, however, would know what happened at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma.

Tornadoes destroyed that school, and another nearby, in 2013. Schools often house hundreds or thousands of students and faculty at any given time and tragedy can take many forms when that many people are in a large building together.

A Utah man and his company, Tresit Group, aim to make our schools safer in the event of an emergency. Cole Smith enlisted in the Utah Army National Guard ten years ago. He was eventually commissioned as an officer in military intelligence and graduated from Arabic language school.

Courtesy of the Tresit Group
Courtesy of the Tresit Group

He then went to work as a special agent for the United States Diplomatic Security Service, which is the law enforcement arm of the US Department of State. Smith earned an MBA from Utah State University and then joined the US Foreign Service, another arm of the State Department.

"The first three years I was on a special response unit, deployed to the Middle East and Africa," Smith recalled. "We supported embassies in crisis and provided training. I had incredible experiences, from protecting Hillary Clinton to going into Somalia."

After that, Smith and his family spent 18 months living in Saudi Arabia as he served in a US Consulate there. He managed security for the consulate.

More recently, Smith has turned his attention to the tech world. Specifically, he and his team of former military officers and federal agents, along with IT experts in Cache Valley, have created a communications system that allows everyone working in a school building to instantly communicate with one another and with law enforcement in the event of an emergency.


We need to be open to options and not get so fixed on 'this is what I was told to do' and not moving.

–Cole Smith


The system is called DIR-S, which stands for Disaster Incident Response and Security. Two problems are common in the event of a disaster or medical emergency in a large school building. First, 911 is often overwhelmed by the volume of callers and emergency responders can receive conflicting reports of what is happening and where it's happening inside the building.

Second, it is common for multiple law enforcement agencies to respond to a large scale emergency. The local, county and state police and medical personnel who respond often can't communicate with one another and can be disorganized in formulating a response.

DIR-S addresses these issues. First, there is no need for 911 calls. According to Cole Smith, local law enforcement is engaged before a school is brought on board to use the system. Whether it is a school resource officer or the local police department as a whole, the system coordinates internal communication from within the school with outside first responders.

The system incorporates a floor plan of the school and an instant messaging platform that allows all faculty and staff in the building with a computer, cell phone or tablet to instantly communicate that an emergency is in progress and in which room in the building.

Law enforcement and paramedics are also instantly notified. In the case of a medical emergency, paramedics know what to expect and what part of the building they should enter in order to save time. Minutes count if someone is having a heart attack.

Courtesy of the Tresit Group
Courtesy of the Tresit Group

DIR-S is designed to be user friendly and requires only a few short steps to communicate, for example, that a live shooter is in the building and in which room. Since 911 calls are unnecessary, those inside the school can take swift evasive action and law enforcement receives a concise, and clear, message as to what's happening and where in the building. This ensures a more immediate and decisive response on the part of first responders.

The technology is only one part of the equation. Tresit Group also provides training so that those inside the school know what to do in case of emergency. In an emergency, Smith said your primary goal is "to get safe and then stay safe."

Knowing where in the building the intruder is located means that those farthest away can immediately escape the building. Those closer to the intruder will know what direction is safe to try and flee. Others will know to lock down and some may have to choose to confront the intruder.

Much of what Tresit Group teaches is based on the OODA loop, developed by military strategist and US Air Force Colonel John Boyd. OODA stands for observe, orient, decide, act. Because the technology behind DIR-S allows for instant communication and coordination of the location of a threat, those using it are already ahead in the OODA loop.

"We need to be open to options and not get so fixed on 'this is what I was told to do' and not moving," Smith said.


The program is designed to work in any facility that benefits from getting their people and first responders on the same page immediately.

–Cole Smith


Training using the OODA loop, combined with the information provided by DIR-S, allows everyone in the building to continually make smart decisions about what to do and where to go.

The beauty of the system is that the information can be updated easily as things change. In the case of the active shooter, his location can be updated by anyone on the system as he moves through the school. First responders are also receiving those updates and can adapt quickly to the changing dynamic.

Tresit is currently working with school districts in Utah and Idaho, and districts in Florida and Arizona have expressed interest. The needs are great in school districts around the country but Tresit also envisions large office buildings being candidates for the system.

"The program is designed to work in any facility that benefits from getting their people and first responders on the same page immediately with dynamic floor plans that give responders a more efficient way to respond," Smith said.

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The tragic events on Thursday in Oregon illustrate the value of something like DIR-S. The system easily accommodates campuses with multiple buildings, according to Smith.

Training is also an area where Smith sees huge opportunities.

"It takes teachers, parents and students — those three corners of the triangle — to create a safe community," he said.

Smith believes his company's largest opportunities may be overseas, where something as simple as calling 911 is often not an option. For American companies and diplomats overseas, being able to alert the outside world of trouble — with a simple push of a button — could be vital.


Mike Stapley is a father of two, is business sales manager for a telecom company and is an aspiring novelist living in Salt Lake City. Contact him at mstapley4@gmail.com

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