Emergency
poles service campus
Safety:
Police respond to every alert given off
by the numerous emergency poles around campus,
whether a false alarm or not.
By
Amy O'Bryant
On-line Forty-Niner
Code
Blue Corp., manufacturer of the emergency
phone poles on campus, boasts that calls
from the phones activate a 15-million, candlepower-blue
strobe to identify the location of a caller
and scare off would-be attackers. That strobe
is also activated if someone merely touches
the red emergency circle and walks away.
University Police have to treat both situations
with the same gravity.
If
the caller does not respond, the police
must assume it's an emergency and dispatch
an officer. Police response times are usually
within a minute, University Police Capt.
Stan Skipworth said, depending on
the location of the caller and the proximity
of the closest officer.
All
emergency phones auto-dial 9-1-1 and are
connected immediately to University Police.
Skipworth confirmed that a majority of the
calls from the poles are false alarms and
processed as incomplete 911 calls.
Skipworth
estimated the department receives 200 to
300 calls in a 24-hour period from all emergency
phones on campus. Of those he said, "15
to 20 percent might come from the blue emergency
phones."
Skipworth
said other frequent calls from the phones
are for "some kind of vehicle assistance
or a request for an escort."
Sgt.
Bonnie Meyers confirmed that although the
phones are for emergencies, it's not unusual
to receive non-emergency calls from the
phones. She said there are phones for emergencies
other than those on the designated poles.
The pay phones on campus are outfitted with
emergency capabilities, she said, and they
also contact the campus police directly.
Meyers says that the parking services department
monitors many of the emergency phones, specifically
those located in the parking areas.
Brian
Dunaway, equipment technician for parking
services, also knows the emergency phones
aren't always used for emergencies.
"People
lose their cars," he said, and they
need assistance. Dispatch will come on the
line immediately when the phone is activated,
he said, and assess the situation. "They'll
ask if there's an emergency."
Dunaway
said the units are quite reliable and don't
require much maintenance. Lamps need to
be replaced periodically and phone lines
maintained. Dunaway said University Police
check phone lines frequently and will immediately
notify parking services of any maintenance
issues in their area.
Campus
figures show more than 200 emergency phones
throughout the campus, and new poles are
added to the campus periodically as funds
become available. Dunaway confirms that
two newer models were installed this summer
in Lots 13 and 14.
Dunaway
said with the new additions, the parking
area has a total of 47 emergency phones,
including 39 Code Blue light poles. Many
of the poles are located within the parking
structure, with at least one emergency phone
in most parking areas.
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