First responders arriving at an emergency face a high-stress, time-sensitive situation that requires fast, accurate information. When they don’t know the best way to get to an incident, who to look for, or the scope of what they’re facing, response times will be longer and the right resources might be missed. This is why situational awareness is essential.
Fortunately, organizations can take steps to help emergency personnel be prepared. Critical incident mapping and video integration are two solutions that optimize incident response by increasing situational awareness. First responders gain immediate access to the precise location of an emergency and nearby available safety assets through dynamic campus maps and a real-time view of the situation through camera feeds, leading to faster response times.
Situational Awareness: What It Is and Why It Matters
Situational awareness is about understanding all the relevant conditions surrounding a given situation to improve decision-making. It involves gathering and assessing data to choose the best course of action.
Situational awareness is the difference between stumbling through a dark room and turning on a light. As understanding of your environment improves, so does your ability to react to that environment with informed decisions. This helps speed up response times.
Situational awareness is one of the most essential skills for first responders. If first responders en route to an emergency don’t know the layout of the campus, what floor the alert is on, or the available safety assets such as first-aid kids or AEDs, they will be delayed getting to the scene and may not be able to provide the most effective help. The lost time and lack of suitable resources can have dire consequences, especially in life-threatening situations.
Situational awareness also improves first responders’ ability to coordinate efforts with other safety personnel by streamlining communication.
The bottom line? During emergencies, first responders need fast, accurate information about the location of the incident and the resources they will need to keep people safe.
Better Situational Awareness with Critical Incident Mapping
CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint™ is a critical incident mapping solution that increases situational awareness to support faster response times. With Safety Blueprint, administrators, staff, and first responders have access to the same digital map, which provides visual data about a campus and its facilities. When a safety alert is triggered, the location of the incident appears on the map, providing real-time data to responders.
Responders also see the location of the nearest safety assets, including:
- AEDs
- lock boxes
- security cameras
- fire alarms
- fire extinguishers
- first-aid kids
The digital map can also show evacuation routes. This all equates to better safety planning, improved communication, and faster response times.
Organizations without Safety Blueprint often rely on static, non-digitized maps of their campus, such as PDFs or physical drawings. There’s no guarantee that the information is accurate and updated or that everyone has the same version. While a traditional blueprint map may seem insignificant during a normal day, it can have a substantial impact during an emergency. Out-of-date maps impeded the efforts of first responders during a school shooting in 2022 which led the Department of Justice to highlight the need for first responders to have current information, including the location of safety equipment and medical supplies.
A digital mapping solution like Safety Blueprint is dynamic and easy to edit and update, facilitating efficient record-keeping. The map reflects the most recent information on a campus, from reassigned room numbers to structural changes. Administrators can also keep tabs on the exact location of safety assets and easily track updates to equipment.
With a digital map, everyone has eyes on the same, most up-to-date information. Campus administrators and key personnel can update a single digital version, and both law enforcement and first responders have access to updates. This means everyone works from the same source of truth, reducing response times by helping first responders to know where to go and where to find the assets they need.
More and more organizations are adopting digital mapping solutions, and over twenty states have enacted or proposed legislation to support digital mapping in response to emergencies.
Enhanced Safety and Awareness with Video Integration
Video integration, such as CENTEGIX’s Incident Activated Video, is another way to help first responders and safety personnel increase their situational awareness during an emergency by giving them visual data that increases their understanding of what they will face and how to prepare.
When Incident Activated Video is integrated into an organization’s safety planning, first responders, real-time crime centers, and Public Safety Answering Points can pull up the nearest cameras to an incident, see what’s going on, and assess what resources should be deployed. This empowers first responders to provide a more tailored response to an emergency since they can accurately plan for the resources they will need and prioritize what’s most important.
Video integration supports situational awareness and coordinated responses across different units since everyone has the same visual data. Teams can better synchronize communications and collaborate when they have eyes on the same situation, leading to improved efficiency and effectiveness.
The Many-Layered Benefits of Critical Incident Mapping
Improving situational awareness during an emergency supports a faster response, which helps first responders perform their jobs. Planning for an emergency enhances safety during an incident year-round by creating a more robust safety culture that benefits everyone.
Parents are more likely to enroll their children at schools that prioritize safety and have protocols to effectively manage emergencies, whether the emergency is a student’s broken leg or an alert for an unauthorized visitor. Schools that use digital mapping and video integration send a clear message to parents that safety and crisis management is a priority.
Teachers are understandably worried about their safety due to a rise in workplace violence. This is one reason they might feel overwhelmed and overburdened and potentially choose to leave the profession. When school districts invest in safety solutions, staff feel more supported, making them more likely to stay and helping to curb high turnover.
Students who perceive their school as safe experience multiple positive benefits compared to their peers. Students who feel safe are more likely to have better attendance, a stronger sense of mental and physical well-being, and higher academic performance.
Increase Situational Awareness for Faster Response Times with CENTEGIX Safety Platform™
CENTEGIX Safety Blueprint and Incident-Activated Video equip first responders with detailed critical information about an emergency, including the precise location, routes in and out, and where safety assets are located. As part of the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, our critical incident mapping and video integration technology can help you bolster comprehensive situational awareness so first responders can focus on what matters most.
Schedule a demo to learn more about how CENTEGIX Safety Platform can help your campus be ready with a rapid response to emergencies.