Prepared Response, Inc. (PRI), announced today that it has been awarded $7 million to install the company's Rapid Responder system in 1,000 schools in South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, and Washington state. The deployments are being funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Emergency Response and Crisis Management (ERCM) grant program and other government funding sources. Rapid Responder currently guards more than 8,400 facilities across the U.S., including 1,650 schools and educational institutions.

    Jim Finnell, president and CEO of Prepared Response, Inc., stated: "PRI's Rapid Responder system was selected based on the company's extensive experience in school safety, the product's ease of use, and the ability to easily update facility information via the Web. Another key factor was that Rapid Responder is the only crisis management system 'Certified' by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the SAFETY Act. The certification process validates Rapid Responder as an effective, reliable, and safe anti-terrorism technology and places Rapid Responder on the DHS Approved Product List for Homeland Security."

    With instant access to a shared database of critical facility data, school safety teams, police, and fire can respond faster, in a more coordinated manner, and with enhanced situational awareness. The Rapid Responder system accumulated over 300 data points about the school, including floor plans, photos, evacuation routes, hazardous materials, etc., places it in a central, highly-secure database, and makes it available to schools, police, fire, and other agencies via the Web or laptop computers.

    One of the most important advantages of the Rapid Responder system is the company's collaborative approach to emergency planning, according to school officials. PRI's highly experienced professional services team facilitates meetings between school officials and first responders, including police, sheriff, fire, and others, that fosters dialog and builds relationships. During these pre-planning meetings, the different agencies talk each other's needs and how they can collaborate and coordinate their response during a wide variety of emergency situations, from shootings and lockdowns to fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hazmat spills.

    The company develops crisis management planning and response systems that gives police, fire, and other emergency responders the ability to save lives and mitigate property damage. Rapid Responder, runs on laptop computers and allows first responders to instantly access more than 300 site-specific data points, including tactical plans, floor plans, aerial and geospatial (GIS) imagery, interior and exterior photos, staging areas, hazardous materials locations, utility shut-offs, and evacuation routes for virtually any facility. The Rapid Responder system guards more than 8,400 facilities and is currently being deployed in educational facilities, public buildings, critical infrastructure, and private facilities across the U.S.

For more information visit www.preparedresponse.com.