Tuesday, August 19, 2014

How Fire Departments Can Finance a LED Sign

FEMA offers the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) each year to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations including equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources. Fire department personnel who have questions about the AFG Program can reach the Program staff by telephone at 1-866-274-0960, or by e-mail at firegrants@dhs.gov. Go to their site to sign up for grant email alerts. http://www.fema.gov/assistance-firefighters-grant-program-info/assistance-firefighters-grants-e-mail-alert-signup Also check with the US Forest Service, Rural Housing Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as private groups like the First Responder Institute for other grants available.

Maltese Cross LED Sign

Monday, August 11, 2014

Increase Campus Safety with LED Emergency Notification Displays

The April 2007 Virginia Tech shootings which claimed the lives of 33 people, including the gunman's, had a chilling effect on the higher education community, but also compelled many of the nation’s school districts to take another look at their K-12 security strategies and explore improvements to their emergency notification systems.  Virginia Tech was faulted by the Department of Education for violating the Clery Act and not informing students and faculty that a shooting had occurred until two hours after the event. Following this tragedy, Virginia Tech installed over 330 LED signs campus wide in libraries, classrooms, dorms, hallways, and other common areas.with the ability to provide daily messages as well as mass notifications in an emergency

Your campus's safety and security can change in a second. You can respond quickly with mass notification LED displays to broadcast safety concerns, terrorism alerts, severe weather alerts, news, and any other emergency announcements within seconds. Systems are self-contained and fully operational regardless of Internet connectivity or cellular network availability. Displays can provide flashing, visible alerts as well as audible alerts to direct the attention of students, faculty and staff to the displayed messages.  The visual mass notification reaches out to everyone within your campus. A fire erupts in the middle school cafeteria. A suspicious stranger is reported lurking on the grounds of the high school. Or in an extreme case, a crime suspect on school grounds puts everybody in the building in danger. When an emergency strikes, these systems allow officials to immediately notify everyone involved with real-time information and instructions on what they should do.

School Mass Notification Signs
LED Signs Posted Campus Wide


Benefits of Mass Notification LED Displays
  • Rapid mass notification of campus population
  • Color coding of messages is possible
  • Capable of flashing urgent messages
  • Provides messaging when mobile coverage is unavailable
  • No need for users to register
  • No user cost
  • Centrally synchronized clocks
  • Operates even when the system is down
Message Types used in LED Mass Notification
  • Security Danger
  • Weather Alerts
  • Severe Storm Warnings
  • Tornado/Hurricane
  • Current Weather & Temperature
  • Shelter Locations
  • Facility Locations
  • Fire Alarm
  • Gas Leak
  • Class Cancellations
  • News & Events
  • Morale Boosting Messages
  • City, State, & National News
  • Department Announcements
  • There are no limitations to the types of messages and possible uses around your campus.
Emergency Messages

A LED mass notification system, which links a school technology infrastructure with a comprehensive emergency response strategy, can save lives. LED Sign Authority provides a complete line of indoor Mass Notification LED Displays.