Silent Panic Alarms Coming To All Chatham Schools

CHATHAM, NJ - The School District of the Chathams will be installing silent panic alarms in all schools by September, according to Superintendent Michael LaSusa. The move is mandated by New Jersey State law.

At Monday's Chatham Board of Education meeting LaSusa noted he had been meeting with vendors to determine what type of silent panic alarm will be utilized by the district and shared some of the pitches he has heard.

"One the benefits and the goal of this system and it bypasses, entirely, the dispatch," LaSusa said. "So you hit the button and whether you're wearing the button or the button is on the wall and the signal goes to a preprogrammed list of folks including the Township or in our case the Borough Police Department without having to go through the county dispatch. And so they say the communication will be much much faster than it would be otherwise. "

LaSusa noted that the type of alarms and how they are distributed will be something they will have to discuss in greater detail in the coming months.

"Just like you have AEDs sprinkled around the building and fire alarm pulls, one vendor put something right over the fire alarm pull that will go to the local Fire Department, Police Department or EMS," LaSusa said. "So there is a just a greater saturation of points where someone can hit the button and get a response."

Governor Phil Murphy signed "Alyssa's Law" in February named after a former Bergen County girl who was one of 17 people murdered in the Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.

The law requires silent panic alarms be installed in all New Jersey public schools. The alarms will alert law enforcement during emergencies, including active shooter situations like the one that killed Alyssa Alhadeff, an ex-Woodcliff Lake resident, or to employ another emergency mechanism approved by the New Jersey Department of Education.

"Alyssa's death is a stark reminder of the dangers of gun violence and the need for adequate school security measures," Murphy said in a statement. "In New Jersey, we will do everything in our power to prevent these tragedies from occurring within our borders."

Alhadeff's parents said they were "honored" that elected officials fought to make schools safer on behalf of their daughter.

"Our hearts are overwhelmed to know our daughter's death is making national changes for school safety and hopefully other states will follow suit," Ilan and Lori Alhadeff said in a statement. "It is with great pleasure to join Governor Murphy to witness this bill signing, and we know that Alyssa is watching from above."

You can see LaSusa's full remarks at about the 43 minute mark in the video below.

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