Four challenges for in-building public safety communications (D.C.)

by | Jun 10, 2024 | Comm Center News

WASHINGTON, D.C.—While in-building coverage for cellular and public safety Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems is a challenge across building use types, it is a particularly urgent one in schools. At last week’s Safer Buildings Coalition Tech and Policy Summit, the issues surrounding first responder communications in school buildings were the front-and-center focus, with Lori Alhadeff, co-founder of the Make Our Schools Safe organization, bringing the matter home by sharing the story of her daughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed during the 2018 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Alhadeff and her husband have since been advocating for better school emergency communications through mandating the availability of silent panic buttons in schools, with a number of states adopting or considering “Alyssa’s Law.”