The purpose of this primer is to provide the design community and
school administrators with the basic principles and techniques to
make a school that is safe from terrorist attacks and at the same
time is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and meets the needs of
the students, staff, administration, and general public. Protecting
a school building and grounds from physical attack is a significant
challenge because the ability to design, construct, renovate,
operate, and maintain the facility is spread across numerous
building users, infrastructure systems, and many building design
codes. There is a strong interest in the United States (U.S.) in
ensuring the safety of students, faculty, and staff in our schools.
Schools are integral parts of their communities. Many schools are
used as shelters, command centers, or meeting places in times of
crisis. Schools are also used widely for polling and voting
functions. In some communities, schools are places of health care
delivery. Schools may or may not be the targets of terrorism, but
they are certain to be affected by terrorism, whether directly or
indirectly. On September 11, 2001, four elementary schools and
three high schools located within 6 blocks of the World Trade
Center were just beginning classes when the first plane hit the
north tower. Thousands of children were exposed to the dust clouds
from the collapsing buildings. Even those children not in the
immediate vicinity experienced a great deal of anxiety. Children in
at least three states (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) had
parents working in or around the World Trade Center that day. In
the Washington, DC, area, schools faced similar situations after
the Pentagon was attacked. Many Americans feel that schools should
be the safest place our children can be, perhaps at times even
safer than the homes in which they live. Security is not a
standalone capability; it is a critical design consideration that
should be constantly reviewed and scrutinized from the design phase
through construction or rehabilitation and onto building use. The
focus of this primer will be on the threats posed by potential
physical attacks on a school by terrorists. Attacking schools and
school children could be a highly emotional and high profile event.
At the time of publication of this primer, there have been no
direct terrorist threats against a school known to the public;
however, schools could be indirectly threatened by collateral
damage from a terrorist attack directed at nearby facilities.
Protecting a school against terrorist attack is a challenging task.
A school may have considerable vulnerabilities, because of its well
defined periods of use, designated access points, storage of
sensitive personal information, minimal security forces, and
numerous avenues of penetration and escape for attackers. This
primer should be used in conjunction with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) 426, Reference Manual to Mitigate
Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, and FEMA 427, Primer
for Design of Commercial Buildings to Mitigate Terrorist Attacks.
This primer presents an approach to protecting schools at risk from
terrorist attacks. The information presented is intended primarily
for architects and engineers, or school administrators with a
technical background. This publication is designed to meet the
needs of all schools, including those with serious security
concerns. Because security concerns of individual schools vary
greatly, some users with modest security concerns may feel
beleaguered by the amount of information and technical approach
presented. They should feel free to select the methods and measures
that best meet their individual situations while gaining a general
appreciation of security concerns and risk management.
General
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