GFHS incident false alarm; GFPS, CCSO partnering on emergency alert app

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Jenn Rowell

The lockdown at Great Falls High School on Sept. 5 was a false alarm.

Teachers and staff at the high school, and district wide, have bee training on a new phone app, Emergent 3, or E3, through a partnership with the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office.

The app is part of Sheriff Jesse Slaughter’s school safety initiative and was approved by County Commissioners in June 2023.

The app offers real-time communication through desktop and mobile devices between school teachers and staff to alert law enforcement to an emergency.

GFPD adds SRO, emphasis on downtown with existing officers, resources

The app allows teachers or staff to speak with law enforcement directly or text through the app if they’re in a situation where they can’t speak, Slaughter said.

The app shows precise locations with schools were the alert is coming from, allowing law enforcement to respond quickly and directly without going through dispatch speeding response times, Slaughter told The Electric.

Lance Boyd, a GFPS assistant superintendent, said that a teacher was in the app creating a user profile on Sept. 5 and inadvertently pushed the button indicating a threat.

Boyd said that while the alert was accidental, the system worked as intended and there was a rapid law enforcement response.

CCSO rolling out community deputy program [2023]

He said the school was locked down within seconds by school resource officers and law enforcement swept the school and lifted the threat within about 10 minutes.

Boyd and Slaughter said they anticipated some mistakes as district personnel trained on the app but that Thursday’s false alarm was a chance for them to drill the process and that they’ll work to minimize those accidental alerts since they know the visible response causes community concern.

Boyd said that the district sent an alert through the Remind platform to parents and employees of Great Falls High that the lockdown was a false alarm.

Officials discuss school safety, student wellness [2023]

“We were pleased with the immediate response to the building,” Boyd told The Electric.

Earlier this summer, the city and district updated their agreement to add a fifth SRO, up from the longstanding four officers covering district school buildings and events.

GFPS covers 75 percent of the cost of those officers and the city covers the remaining 25 percent.

The county’s E3 agreement for the emergency alert app was approved in June 2023 for a $3,000 onboarding and one-time set up fee, plus $5,000 annually.

The district is planning active shooter training in the fall and the community will be notified with more details as that training approaches, Boyd said.

Here’s a brief overview of GFPS safety protocols and more information is available here.

EVACUATION: Defined as an internal emergency that requires students and staff to leave the building for their safety. Parents should follow emergency notifications.

LOCKDOWN: Defined as an internal and/or immediate threat. All staff and students are locked in rooms. No one IN or OUT!

SHELTER-IN-PLACE: Defined as a safety precaution for an external threat that is not an immediate or internal threat.

CLASS HOLD: Defined as a safety precaution implemented during an incident where students need to be kept in the classroom.

RELEASE WITH CARE: Defined as a possible threat in the schools’ neighborhoods during arrival and release time. Release with care procedures.

To ensure safety, the building administrator may ask staff to escort students to/from buses or waiting cars.
Staff may also be asked to accompany students home.