The LeRoy school district now has enhanced, data-rich school maps, allowing first responders to more quickly respond to emergencies.
Through collaboration with the Emergency Telephone System Board [ETSB], Metcom and Western Illinois University, all LeRoy schools and athletic facilities will have up-to-date info to provide emergency workers. This Geographic Information System [GIS] is provided to schools at no cost because of a grant provided by Illinois State Police. This makes LeRoy the first school in McLean County to do so.
All district property, including all three school buildings in the district and off-site locations like athletic facilities, is mapped to eliminate guesswork for first responders. The maps show data points like room numbers, exit doors, key landmarks, lockdown zones and treatment needs like where an Automated External Defibrillator [AED] or gas shutoff valve can be located. Color coding is also used for fast orientation. Many of these data points are not shown on a standard building layout.
“The fact that emergency personnel were going to be able to use GIS mapping to zero in on where an emergency was,” said Jeff Baughman, superintendent, of his thought process when he was approached with an opportunity to use the technology for his school district. “It kind of made it a no-brainer.”
First responders often have to use outdated information provided by a school, sometimes dating back to when a building was first completed. Thinking back to when he was principal of LeRoy High School, Baughman says that can be a problem in the case of an emergency.
“We might have an emergency call where a student or a staff member needs to be treated, and I'm literally standing out in front of the building, waiting for our EMS who generally know our building, flagging them down,” said Baughman. “And that just adds more time.”
The process started with providing some maps to the GIS mapping program. A few months later, the school district received detailed drafts of maps, drawn to scale and easily showing where everything was.
“They were just absolutely incredible,” said Baughman.
In the next phase, GIS mappers came to LeRoy to ask questions about what certain areas are used for and where other items needed for a complete map were located.
“It's incredibly precise,” said Baughman. “And then you got to the point that we're where we are now, where things are getting loaded into the system for the true project, for the 911 system.”
In practice a 911 dispatcher will be able to access the map of a facility through their computer system, allowing them to guide first responders to the exact location of an emergency.
Other school districts in McLean County have shown interest in implementing versions of the mapping for their facilities.
“I don't know exactly what phase everybody is in, but I am aware that every public school is currently on board with implementation of some phase,” said Baughman. “I know a couple of specific districts that have provided maps.”
Private schools in the county are also becoming involved, Baughman added.
