South Williamsport Area School District will become the first district in Lycoming County to employ ELS911, a wayfinding system that is integrated with location-finding tools used by local emergency response agencies, State College-based Public Safety Network recently announced.

The system was created more than 15 years ago, and has ties close to the area, as its creator, Scott Henry, is a Morris resident and former state and law enforcement and public safety educator, the press release said.

ELS911, which stands for Emergency Labeling System 911, uses signage and survey-grade GPS/GIS mapping to help first responders respond as quickly and accurately as possible to any emergency events that may occur.

The system identifies all interior hallways, stairways, elevators, as well as all exterior entrances using signage that is available on hard copy and digital maps, Eric Porterfield, vice president and projects director, explained in an email to the Sun-Gazette.

Digital GIS/GPS mapping of the school is performed via drones equipped with RTK technology, Porterfield said in the email.

Those maps are then broken down into location grid segments and shared with all the local 911 centers, as well as fire, EMT, and police agencies that have operational jurisdiction over the area, in order to help responders find a caller’s position based on their cell phone’s location function.

“The ELS911 system provides real-time visual references for both those involved and/or reporting a critical event and emergency responders,” he explained in the email.

These references provide first responders with immediate up-to-date information as conditions change or as the threat may travel between inside and outside the affected facility.

“This particular GIS/GPS digital map will be fully integrated with future NG 9-1-1 ASIS Certified or endorsed GIS Data Models that correspond with software used by first responders’ location-based, in vehicle equipment,” Porterfield explained.

“ELS911 is a first-line safety tool every school can afford and should have,” Zachary Pugh, ELS911’s vice-president of development said in the press release.

“There is simply nothing more important than time when it comes to reporting and responding to a critical event,” said Pugh, a police officer based out of Utica, N.Y., who will oversee the project.

Thirteen states currently require similar systems, according to Porterfield.

“By getting it done now, South Williamsport is avoiding the increased cost that will come when required,” he said.

“It will also ensure the schools will not need to ‘cue-up’ as schools rush to get mapped,” he explained.

For district officials, the system, expected to be implemented this year, is yet another opportunity to further their mission of providing a safe and secure learning environment for all their students, faculty and staff.

“The South Williamsport Area School District is always looking for ways to improve the safety and security of our schools. As part of this safety work, the district determined it was important for our district to create a system so that all emergency responders, should an emergency exist, will have a roadmap to identify the threat within the emergency and assure the threat is eliminated in the most effect way possible,” district Superintendent Dr. Eric Briggs said in an emailed statement to the Sun-Gazette.

“This is another layer of security to support that safety and security mission in the district,” he said.