There doesn’t seem to be any solution to active shooters killing or injuring our children at schools every year. For decades now, universities, schools, and government officials have tried protecting our kids with on-campus security guards, armed teachers, and steel fences. But there’s one level of defense no one has tried: replacing classroom doors with ballistic-resistant vault doors. These doors can’t be kicked in, shoot through, or breached the way ordinary classroom doors can. On top of that, teachers can put a lightweight bullet-resistant shield on the backs of each student’s chair. If an active shooter enters a school and fires his first round, the school’s security guard can sound a bell that will alert faculty and teachers to lock their vault doors, securing their classrooms. The teacher can then instruct students to get under their desks and hold the bulletproof shields over their heads and chest. This added protection would not only stop the active shooter from entering the classroom but also protect children from gunfire that could come through the windows.
Some skeptics will say, “What if a shooter breaks through the classroom’s window?” But our research shows most classroom windows have strong steel grids that make climbing through broken class very hard. If a shooter were to come to a classroom with a vault door and reinforced windows, chances are they would most likely move on to the next classroom. And if that classroom’s vault door is secured, they will probably move on to the next room. All this extra time will give the police much-needed time to get to the school and protect our children. If vault doors and secure windows can buy the police an extra 5-8 minutes of protection, that could be what ends up saving children’s lives. And time is what’s needed to defuse these types of situations.
If schools don’t want to add expensive vault doors to every classroom, they can pick one classroom in each wing of the campus. They can then “harden” that classroom with a vault door and reinforced windows. If a shooter enters the school, teachers can then usher their students into these “hardened classrooms” where the students will be safe from gunfire.
This concludes our article regarding vault doors replacing classroom doors. If you have any questions about the best vault door to fit your application, contact us at Sportsman Steel Safes. 800-266-7150.