BluePoint Alert Solutions, the leader in Rapid Emergency Response Systems (RERS), announced the availability of its RERS for public and private commercial facilities. RERS are specifically designed to speed the response time of law enforcement and first responders and notify building occupants when life-threatening incidents occur within commercial facilities, like private offices, malls or retail settings. Similar to a standard “fire alarm,” occupants and patrons can activate a BluePoint pull station and instantly notify police and on-site security of an emergency situation to expedite a rapid response.

“BluePoint’s mission is to provide a solution to help speed the response times of law enforcement and first responders in emergency situations for any kind of facility or building,” says John McNutt, co-founder and CEO of BluePoint. “We’ve focused on schools, houses of worship and medical facilities, and we believe that offering our RERS is an ideal fit for commercial facilities, like malls and office spaces as well. We want to help facility and security managers provide the safest possible settings for workers and patrons alike.”

Nearly half of the armed intruder incidents from the 14-year FBI study released in 2014 occurred in commercial spaces like businesses – public and private – and malls. Securing these spaces can represent a problem to facility managers and security professionals due to the high variance of patron demographics. Unlike schools or medical facilities, citizens in malls or retail spaces are not trained to react to emergency situations. RERS are designed to help mitigate these concerns by providing an intuitive and accessible tool for immediately notifying law enforcement and on-site security when a crisis scenario arises.

BluePoint uses a highly secure network that is completely dedicated to response alerts and is independent of other building systems so there’s no interference. The wireless system covers an entire building or campus, plus any surrounding areas (parking lots, fields, garages, etc.). Once a wearable mobile device or pull station is activated, an alert is immediately sent to local first responders with the building address and point of initiation. Incident location data from the pull-stations is transmitted with dynamic facility layout formatting using Visual Point Identification (VPI) technology that rapidly conveys locations to first responders and building leaders. At the same time, designated building occupants, such as managers, HR leaders or those trained in first aid, are instantly notified to take action and precautions through phone systems, texts and emails, as well as blue strobe lights inside and outside the building.

For very large buildings that have multiple entry points, like multi-campus private businesses or retail malls, BluePoint offers a Medical RERS system that rapidly alerts medical first responders and guides them quickly to the injured through beacon strobe lights and VPI diagrams.

Additionally, BluePoint’s RERS can accommodate 2-stage alerting. On-site security or medical teams are rapidly alerted initially to respond and evaluate the situation. If they require police or outside medical teams, they can quickly and easily activate their wearable device while staying engaged in the situation.

The system also can send designated building occupants, security professionals and facility managers a text, email or voice notification with pertinent data. This automation not only helps panicked personnel act swiftly, but also reduces the response time of paramedics, law enforcement and on-site responders.

“The flexibility and customization of a Rapid Emergency Response System means that it can fit a wide variety of needs and settings in the commercial space,” says BluePoint’s co-founder and CMO, John Shales. “The evidence bears out that our core belief – response time matters in emergency situations – is critical to continuing to develop comprehensive safety and security protocols needed in the 21st century.”