Fire safety is not optional, so why is CSI lacking?
By: Amanda Musto
From wheelchair ramps to ASL interpreters, CUNY safety officers to elevators, CSI prides itself on being safe and accessible for its students, yet when it comes to something as important as fire or active shooter safety, there’s a lapse in protective protocols.
While sitting in my ASL class, the fire alarm started blaring, sending the class in a panicked rush outside when we realized our professor had no idea what was going on.
That moment got me thinking about how catastrophic a real fire can be for faculty and students who are deaf or hard of hearing if they never realize the alarm is going off, keeping them in the building longer. While adding the flashers into the classrooms seems like such a small, unnoticeable change to be made, it can make a world of difference to someone in a dangerous situation.
Besides the aspect of fire safety, the flashers can be set up to also be used as an active shooter alert system. While it is not something you want to think about, it is sadly the way of the world and should be planned for. The minute a gunshot is heard, faculty or students can press a button in a classroom or bathroom which would then cause all the flashers on campus to light up blue, alerting everyone to get to a safe place. Its system would then send out an alert to the local police department to let them know there is a shooter on campus.
