HVAC Noxious Gas Leak Hospitalizes 28 Students in Tenn.

Nashville, Tenn:  More than two dozen students have spent the night in a hospital after carbon monoxide leaked at their Nashville private school. A hole in the school's heating unit is the reported cause of the leak. Drexel Preparatory Academy principal Cheryl Bowman told WTVF-TV students began coming to the office Monday morning complaining of flu-like symptoms. Officials decided to cancel classes. After students were sent home, the school got a call from Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital, saying several students had been brought in and showed high levels of carbon monoxide. Workers found a hole in a heating unit that serves the central part of the school, where the kindergarten and first-grade classes are located. Twenty-eight students were admitted to the hospital and put on oxygen overnight. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas produced by combustion.

Discussion Point:  

• BE AWARE. If more than one student or school member complains of a headache or seems uncharacteristically drowsy there may be a gas leak. REMEMBER Carbon Monoxide can KILL. Always Err on the side of caution. 
• This may also be triggered by the school healthcare personnel if they have a number of student's complaining of headache, drowsiness, or lethargy.
• LEAVE & VENTILATE. Have the students and faculty members leave the room and take them as a group to the school nurse. Let adjacent teachers be aware as you depart. Ventilate the room by opening the window (s). Don't necessarily open the door because you may spread the gas throughout the school if it is localized to your room.
• REPORT ASAP. Contact the school leadership and the School Nurse to let them know what is going on, which room you are in, and where you are taking the students. School Leaders will quickly assess and contact the Fire Department and their facilities personnel. The Fire Department will check the air quality and the Facilities (Maintenance) folks can assist in determining if there is a leak and where it may be coming from. Leave this to the professionals. 
• May REQUIRE a LOCALIZED OR FULL EVACUATION? If Fire Department Incident Commander deems the air quality to be dangerous, they may direct the school leadership to evacuate a part (ie., 2d floor) of the building, relocate personnel (to the gym or cafeteria), or direct an evacuation of the entire building to mitigate the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning or noxious fumes. 
• This situation may be further complicated by the time of year or season. If it is winter and you need to have a full evacuation you now have another issue: cold injuries if you have to stay outside for an extended period of time and if the weather is severe. 
• NEED TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK OR THE FACILITY REMAINS UNSAFE. Identifying the source of the leak is critical to preventing further injury to people and of secondary importance to determine when you can continue school operations. When does the school get cleared to re-open if it needed to be closed. The collaboration between the school and district leadership, Fire Dept., School District Facilities representatives, and District Public Affairs are vital to keeping the school community informed of what happened, what has been done to fix the problem, and the impact on the safety of students and teachers, and impact on school operations .  
• PREVENTION. 
• Does your school have Carbon Monoxide Detectors? If not why not?
• How often is the HVAC system inspected to determine if their are leaks, damage to ducts, intake or exhaust valves block? 

Feb 28, 2013 All Hazard School Related Incidents in US

Feb 28, 2013 All Hazard School Related Incidents:  

1. Roof fire at a School: February 27, Associated Press – (Pennsylvania) Rural W. Pa. school reopens after $250,000 fire. Students reported back to a western Pennsylvania elementary school February 27 after a roof fire caused extensive damage and cancelled classes for all Portage-area schools. 

Source: http://www.ldnews.com/state/ci_22678445/rural-w-pa-school-reopens-after-250-000

2. Shooting at a School (University): February 27, Reuters – (South Carolina) One student dead after South Carolina 

university shooting. A shooting in a dormitory at Coastal Carolina University left one student dead February 26. Authorities placed the university on lockdown as they searched for the gunman, who they believe fled the campus. 

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/27/us-usa-shooting-southcarolinaidUSBRE91Q04220130227

3. Group of People Sick in Cafeteria (University) February 26, Baltimore Sun – (Maryland) Johns Hopkins at Keswick building evacuated after people fall ill. Johns Hopkins’ Keswick building evacuated 600 people and closed down after 18 individuals became ill in the cafeteria area for 

unknown causes. Officials are still investigating and have ruled out a carbon monoxide, explosives, and several other hazards as the agents. Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-hs-hopkins-keswick-evac-

20130226,0,7312533.story

4. School Bus Accident: February 26, Sioux City Journal – (Iowa) Sioux-city bus collision injures 21 students. A city transit bus and West High School bus collided and left 21 students with minor injuries after students threw snowballs at the school bus. School officials said the students would be punished accordingly. 

Source: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/state-and-regional/injured-in-sioux-cityschool-bus-accident/article_18e75217-5940-5833-bd4a-d38f4a52612a.html

Cyber Safety Videos for Kids (K through 8th Grade)

Michigan's Cyber Safety Initiative

Click on the Above Link to Access the Cyber Safety Videos for Kids.

The state of Michigan has a strong cyber-security program and put together age appropriate videos designed for kids from:

• Kindergarten to 1st Grade
• 2nd and 3rd Grade 
• 4th and 5th Grade
• 6th through 8th Grade

Discussion: Unfortunately, technology has outpaced most parent's ability to understand it, use it, and safely monitor and supervise their children's use of the Internet and information technology (iPhone, iPads, etc.). Most children spend long hours unsupervised on the Internet...? It has become a virtual "pacifier"and some parent's allow their children to have computer access in their rooms under the guise of privacy. I strongly recommend kids have computer access in an open area where parents can freely move through and view what is going on. Parent's don't need to be defensive in supervising what their kid's are doing on the Internet. Searching the computer's history and putting age appropriate parental controls is important, and the child use needs to be transparent. You should have access to their accounts, passwords, and sites - if not then do not let them use it. (It is a privilege, not a right) One parent said, "if any electronic information comes into my home or leaves out of my home, I have every right to know what it is, and if my child doesn't like it they don't get to use the Internet!" Many parent's act as if it is a child's right to have Internet privacy. The next step is teaching them digital citizenship and cyber safety. This will translate to making them adults who are more aware of Identity Theft and other Cyber threats.

Final Comment: What we teach our student's and kid's about the Internet is what they will take into adulthood. This is how we keep our schools and society safer and more secure.

Preventing School Mass Shooters & Katherine S. Newman

While it is understood there is no psychological profile for a school shooter, there are behavioral indicators. Katherine S. Newman (scholar and author of the book Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings) came up with Five Criteria to help identify a potential school shooter in her book. This work has exhaustive research and data which I am shocked has not been incorporated into the state and federal discussions on school safety in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 

The Five Criteria are: 

1. Marginality: individual feels socially ostracized (real or perceived) and feels marginal (loner, bullied, harassed).

2. Individual Vulnerabilities: mental illness, family problems, depressed, suicidal, or a combination.

3. Cultural Scripts: change roles, manly exit, notoriety better than being ignored, send a message, fame, advertise threats but then committed to follow through or face more negative attention, escalating commitment, designs (plans) the rampage script.

4. Under The Radar: unrecognized change in academic or disciplinary history, downward changes in behavior, violent writings in school or social media, criminal history, threats, lack of parental awareness.

5. Access To Weapons: at home or relatives, purchase or borrow weapons, steal weapons, and some weapon experience.

In 2008, she was a keynote speaker at a Campus Safety Conference and her talk was filmed. This video is 52 minutes long where she touches the five criteria and upon three main questions:

1. What motivates these school rampage shooters?

2. Why didn't the school identify the behaviors of the shooter beforehand?

3. Why didn't the community identify the behaviors of the shooter beforehand? 

This video is worth your time if you are an educator, law enforcement, or involved in school preparedness (safety & security). Especially interesting is how she talks about the societal aspects of school and community cultures that negate (by not reporting concerns) the prevention of many of these school shootings. 

This reinforces my strong belief that promoting a "See Something, Hear Something, Read Something, Report Something" in our schools and communities is critical to prevention of school shootings.  

5 Simple Steps To Make Your School Safer and More Secure

5 Simple Steps to Take To Make Your School Safer and More Secure

Click on the link above to view the document. 

STEP 1: Instill, and Maintain, a School Preparedness Mindset.  

·         “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something”  campaign that is all inclusive

STEP 2: Form a School Preparedness Committee

STEP 3: Learn About School Preparedness (Free FEMA EMI Online Courses)

STEP 4:  Find, Review, and Refine your School Preparedness Plan

STEP 5: Conduct School Preparedness Drills and grow capability. 

Initial Observations from the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

RESPONSE RELATED:  

• This school had trained in lockdown drills and procedures. Teachers and students knew what to do and they did it which lessened the tragedy. Had the law enforcement first responders not arrived or were not activated by the 911 call, the shooter had hundreds of rounds and victims left. Their (school leadership, faculty, students, and law enforcement) preparedness saved lives. 
• The shooter may break into the facility or room even if doors are locked. This speaks to the “Fight / Resist” to make it harder for them to make a smooth entry into the building / room.
• It appears as the adult(s) (Principal pictured above) fighting the shooter slowed the shooter and bought time for others. If someone is going to kill you, don’t make it easy for them. Inaction is not an option.
• Some people heard “booms”, gunshots, or a confrontation over the school announcement system.  There will be different ways of finding out there is an violent threat in the building.
• Teachers hiding, reassessing and improving their hide site for students was critical to saving lives.
• Teachers kept students calm and due to their young age kept them distracted and occupied.
• The arrival of Law Enfocement in the rapid Active Shooter response is believed to have influenced the shooter to kill himself as he had 100s of rounds of ammo left and more potential victims.  (The sooner the Police show and close with the shooter, the sooner many shooters kill themselves similar to Columbine;  Nickel Mine,Pa;  Va Tech, and now Newtown, CT.)
• Sometimes Running (as a response) to get out of threat area or as part of the directed evacuation is key. Responding Police clearing the school directed many children to Run to the Firehouse.
• You may have to evacuate students / people past a violent (blood, bodies, etc.) crime scene.
• School and First Responders had a known location for evacuation and student reunification (the firehouse).

RECOVERY RELATED:  Many of the recovery decisions are almost surreal after the fact so it is important to plan for them ahead of time, despite how distasteful the topics and decision points are. They won't get easier after an incident. 

• The school is a crime scene to be processed for days, maybe a week. Once cleared, then and only then can clean up and repair happen.  Depending on when this happens, how long do you close school for? When do you re-open? 
• It is more than just cleaning up the crime scene (bio-hazard clean-up, repair damage & bullet holes). What parts of the building off limits (library at Columbine, Kindergarten class at Sandy Hook, Norris Hall at Va Tech etc.) and how does that effect classes and a return to normalcy.
• Crisis Intervention and Counseling services for everyone, ask for state and federal assistance. It is required immediately and will continue for years to come.
• Loss of key Personnel (the Principal and School Psychologist, Teachers, Staff) calls for a rapid decision for replacing school leadership and Subject matter personnel. The decision for the assumption of leadership in the absence of others not being there, maybe temporary or permanent.
• Coming back into school needs to be well thought out and phased: Parents visit school, Parents and Students visit school, Parents and students go to school and classes, Students go to school with some Parents visiting.
• Columbine HS planned it as “taking back our school” and they excluded media due to the adversarial & invasive relationship they had at that time.

THESE ARE A FEW INITIAL OBSERVATIONS MEANT FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW. 

GOD BLESS ALL OF THE FAMILIES IN NEWTOWN, CT AS WELL AS THE FIRST RESPONDERS.

Letter From a Mom Who Has a Son With Mental Issues

Letter from a Mom Who Has a Son With Mental Issues and She Fears Him

Newtown School Shooter

Strongly Recommend you read this letter from a Mom (LINK ABOVE THE PICTURE) who has a son with mental issues that has manifested themselves in violent acts, threats, and behaviors. This speaks to the heart of one of the major issues of violence at schools, do we know who the people around our loved ones who have mental health issues? How do school communities assess these individuals and handle them to balance the needs of the student or adult with mental issues and the security and safety of the school community, and community at large.