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A fighting chance

Wellsville school staff to be trained in use of installed pepper spray defense system

Linda Rolley (right), principal of Wellsville Junior-Senior High School, tests a water-filled demonstration canister of the Threat Extinguisher Non-Lethal Defense System under the guidance of company head Sam Fasone. The pepper spray will disable an attacker at a distance of 20 feet or more, Fasone said. (Submitted photo)

WELLSVILLE — Members of Wellsville Local School District staff are to undergo training Wednesday and Thursday in the use of the Threat Extinguisher Non-Lethal Defense System, including using “tactical grade pepper spray gel” to disable an active shooter or other threat.

Superintendent Richard Bereschik said Threat Extinguisher is only one of a number of school safety measures recently installed, enhanced, or planned at the urging of a 12-member community safety committee.

“The reason behind it is to give everybody a fighting chance,” explained Bereschik.

Earlier this month the Threat Extinguisher system was installed in hallways, cafeterias, gyms and auditoriums, as well as on or under desks of selected staff, throughout Wellsville Junior-Senior High School and Daw and Garfield elementary buildings.

When a pepper gel spray canister is pulled from its mount, a piercing alarm sounds, and text and email messages noting the location are sent within seconds to designated school staff and 911/police, fire and other first responders. Knowing the location of the threat is intended to help teachers decide whether to shelter in place or evacuate students away from the threat.

The community safety committee, which included parents, police, fire, board of education members and staff, has worked with the administration on a number of student safety programs, including:

* Raptor, a computer system which scans driver licenses or state IDs of visitors upon entry to identify sexual predators, and prints out visitor badges. It also will be used to conduct criminal background checks on school volunteers.

* New locks and alarm systems were installed or upgraded on all exterior doors, with keyfob entry systems for school staff.

* Upgrades were made to security camera systems.

* Devices called “bolo sticks” have been installed on classroom doors, preventing intruders from opening them.

* Village police are assigned as school resource officers in all three school buildings, and stationed at main entries.

* Tough 3M safety film is to be installed on glass doors and first story windows in November, greatly reducing the possibility of gaining entry by breaking out windows.

* The administration is to meet with architects to have plans drawn up for dual-entry doors at main entrances to add a second physical barrier.

Raptor and the other computerized security upgrades are being done through an existing contract with Datacom Systems, the superintendent said.

The Threat Extinguisher installation was performed under a $33,000 contract with Threat Extinguisher Defense Systems of Westerville, Ohio, a company launched three years ago by Sam Fasone. The contract includes a $45 monthly fee per building to monitor the alert system.

The Threat Extinguisher system already has been installed in Columbiana public schools and the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center, Fasone said, and is to be placed in Leetonia public schools.

Fasone and his installation crew worked with Wellsville school staff to choose strategic locations for the wall-mounted “SmartCases” containing canisters of pepper spray gel. Other canisters are mounted on or under staff desks. Canisters are black and cases are clearly labeled “Self-Defense” to avoid confusing them with fire extinguishers. After an attached hammer is used to break the plexiglass front, the canister may be pulled from the base, activating a 103-decibel alarm and the text/email alert message system.

The user must pull a pin before the canister will fire. With the press of a large yellow button, a stream of pepper spray gel is fired, with an effective range of 25 feet or more, said Fasone.

The chemical in the gel is derived from a variety of peppers containing capsaicinoids, he said. Fired at an attacker’s face and chest, it causes intense burning to eyes, nose, throat, lungs and skin. It incapacitates the subject through pain, breathing difficulty, and by causing the eyes to close. Symptoms normally begin to fade after 45 minutes.

Bereschik cited the work of the 12-member community safety committee in helping the administration and board decide how best to protect students and staff.

“These security systems are not a response to any particular threat but rather preemptive measures,” the superintendent said. “We are looking at every possible way to make our schools safe for students”

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