Bombs. Armed break-ins. Fires. These are real things that can happen in the building where you work and put your safety or even your life at risk.
Experts agree that you have a good chance of getting out of a dangerous situation if you know what's going on and what to do. But it's always hard for building owners and managers to get quick and accurate emergency information to people in the building, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers.
The security industry is paying attention to a new way to send out emergency alerts called the Immediate Response Information System, or IRIS. They want to find solutions that work and don't cost too much. IRIS can reach thousands of people in a matter of seconds using the most popular ways to get in touch, such as home and cell phones, e-mail, digital pagers, PDAs, and fax machines. It can be turned on through a special Web page or a toll-free number.
With IRIS, building managers, people in the building, and emergency responders all get the same message in both voice and text formats. IRIS keeps trying to call until it gets through, even if the line is busy or there is no answer. Ten different languages can be chosen ahead of time by the person who will get the gift.
This high-tech alert system also sends important but non-emergency information to people who live or work in the building. For example, it could tell them about bad weather, building maintenance plans, or changes in parking restrictions. IRIS sends out these messages quickly and makes sure they were received.
IRIS can be set up without installing any hardware, software, or system updates. In case of an emergency, the people who are supposed to send the messages can use the service from a safe place on any phone or computer with Internet access.
