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New Radio System Connects All Fremont Schools - Has Potential to Save Lives

Posted at 6:24 PM, Aug 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-06 19:24:44-04

FREMONT, Neb. — New technology from Fremont Schools has the potential to save lives in dangerous situations.

In an emergency situation it is not uncommon for phone lines to get overwhelmed and shut down.

"In a dire emergency situation, cell phone towers can only handle so many simultaneous calls at the same time. This entire cell phone tower system around here would shut down in an emergency. Everybody getting on their cell phones," District Coordinator for Security of Fremont Public Schools, Kevin Kavan, said.

This can leave people stranded and helpless. That's why Fremont Schools want to make sure that never happens. Thanks to a number of generous grants, they now have a more efficient form of communication. A radio system.

"What we've done is created a system that hopefully we never have to, but if we do, we can communicate with all of our key staff. With Fremont Public Schools, also with Trinity, also with Bergan to be able to communicate and provide services to the community for Fremont Pubic Schools or the other school districts and communicate with emergency responders if needed," Director of Information Services of Fremont Public Schools, Cliff Huss, said.

In an emergency situation a staff member would be able to speak into the radio and let surrounding schools and dispatch know that they need help and let others know to stay safe.

Just last year Fremont High School had an incident where someone was thought to have had a gun during after-school hours. The school is just thankful that the event didn't happen during peak school hours.

"Had that been in the middle of the day, 1:30 in the afternoon let's say or 10:30 in the morning, and we'd gone into a lock-down situation, cell-phone towers would've blown up around here. Not only from our students probably calling mom and dad calling their guardians whoever, but also the community responding back," Kavan said.

The radio system will also aid in everyday communication and during natural disasters - like the flooding that Fremont remembers all too well.

"We were on Spring Break though, had we been in session, Washington Elementary is in the southern part of Fremont, it would've had to been completely evacuated.There again our cell phones might not have been able to be in use, radio communication would've been perfect," Kavan said.

According to school officials, this communication system will make Fremont a safer and more forward thinking school system and city.

"In my prior experiences, I worked for the Nebraska State Patrol for 30 years, and anytime you can imporove radio communications you're way, way ahead," Kavan said.