STEVENSVILLE, Md.- After a first floor fire was controlled Wednesday, Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Tracy Schulz noticed something was missing from Kent Island High School: an automatic emergency alert service.
"The system they have there is an antiquated system and it does not dial out of the school, so some has to actually call 9-1-1 from the school," said Schulz.
Schulz says an automatic service would speed up response time and allow faculty members to focus on student safety.
"Staff are supposed to be evacuating students out of the school- that's their main priority. So they shouldn't have to worry about making a phone call to 9-1-1 to see if they've been notified or not," Schulz said.
Dorchester and Talbot counties have an automatic emergency alert service, and people on Kent Island said their high school should have one too.
In fact the only school in Queen Anne's County without an automatic service is Kent Island High School. Ashley Folderauer of Stevensville said it is alarming that they do not have one.
"If that alarm doesn't trigger to 911 than a lot of kids can get hurt," Folderauer said.
The Queen Anne's County Board of Education said it is in the process of installing a system. They expect it to be complete in the near future.
