Bearacade Door Control Meets House Bill 64 Requirements for Classroom Safety in Lockdown Situations

COLUMBUS, Ohio - April 8, 2016 - PRLog -- Schools across the state are entrusted to provide a safe learning environment for students and keep children safe from all threats, including active shooter incidents. However, despite various lockdown trainings offered to teachers and students, there's still a lot of confusion when it comes to active shooter/hostile intruder response protocols.

"Getting out of the way is the first, best action," said Bill Cushwa. "But, during a hostile intruder situation, it is not always feasible for classrooms to evacuate. The Bearacade Door Control System is meant to hang next to a classroom door, where it can be deployed in seconds and prevents the door from opening in either direction."

According to the FBI, most hostile intruder situations last around 11.5 minutes. The average police response time is 12 to 18 minutes. Current lockdown procedures direct students and teachers to stay put and quiet until help can arrive. But, school shooting events show that while standard lockdown procedures, such as ALICE training or Run-Hide-Fight are in place, they are not enough to ensure school safety.

Bearacade Door Control System was developed as a response to the inability to effectively barricade classrooms during hostile situations. Bearacade provides an added layer of school safety, in addition to standard lockdown procedures like ALICE training. If evacuation is not possible, taking shelter-in-place and utilizing Bearacade is much more effective and safer than trying to create a make-do blockade.

Bearacade also meets all requirements of House Bill 64, which was written to provide clarity, consistency, and guidance for the issue of barricading entry into a room when someone on the outside is attempting to harm those on the inside.

House Bill 64 prompted schools and organizations to use devices that prevent both ingress and egress through a door in a school building. The Bill allows for the use of such devices during times of extreme danger, meaning that the gear cannot be permanently mounted, causing no change to the door or the door frame under normal operating conditions. The act also requires that law enforcement and fire service be notified before the use of such a device and that educational institutions provide in-service training on the use of such equipment.

"We designed Bearacade to be easy to use for both those in the classroom and emergency services personnel coming to help," Dave Soulsby said. "Before the device is installed, we notify local police and fire departments and provide in-service training on its use. Students deserve to feel safe at school. In the event a hostile intruder situation does occur, Bearacade can help protect students until help arrives."

For more information about Bearacade, visit www.doorbearacade.com.

About BearacadeÒ: Created and produced in Ohio by state natives Bill Cushwa and Dave Soulsby following the tragic events of the 2012 Chardon High School shooting, Bearacade Door Control System was developed as a device intended to slow or prevent a door from being opened. Bearacade is designed for the rare, short-duration moments of a hostile intruder when it's safer to take shelter than evacuate. The Bearacade Door Control System is the only device that conforms completely with Ohio House Bill 64 and has external notification for police and emergency services personnel to know who has been barricaded or not.