FAQFAQHOW DOES SAFE ZONE WORK?
Safe Zone gunfire detection system features a patent-pending tri-mode data capture system that features acoustic, spectral, and impulsive shock wave sensors. A high density array of these sensors provide the most protection to instantaneously collect noise data that is then analyzed by a cloud-based machine learning system. If gunfire is confirmed, Safe Zone immediately alerts users to connect the built-in automated response system to 911 emergency communication centers.
HOW QUICKLY DOES SAFE ZONE ALERT AUTHORITIES?
Through its exclusive partnership with RapidSOS, Safe Zone enables gunshot detection data to be directly shared with 911, expediting first alert times to about ten seconds. This partnership also enables Safe Zone to send floor plans of the building showing the location of shots detected, as well as, the firearm type, and the number of shots fired with timestamps for each.
WHY IS HAVING A FLOOR PLAN SO IMPORTANT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FIRST RESPONDERS?
While law enforcement may have in-car access to the floor plans for some public buildings, they have no access to the floor plans of the millions of private buildings across the country. The Safe Zone floor plan features provides law enforcement officers with an immediate lay-of-the-land as to where shots have been fired within a facility by room and by floor. This clarity, without needing to interview the traumatized and victims, can save 10 or more minutes of time in enabling police to advance and confront the shooter faster. These minutes are often the difference between life or death of the critically wounded victims.
HOW DOES IT SAVE LIVES?
Faster response times by emergency personnel reduce fatalities in shooter events. Safe Zone is able to deliver critical data such as address, building, floor, room, gunshot location, number of gunshots and firearm type within seconds of an event. Having timely, reliable, objective information aids in life saving for police and EMS because it allows them to prepare more efficiently, know exactly what kind of situation they’re getting into and ultimately confront the shooter as much as 10 or more minutes faster.
HOW DO I GET THE APP?
The Safe Zone app is a free download from the Apple store and Google Play store.
HOW DOES SAFE ZONE’S SYSTEM NOTIFY PEOPLE THROUGH THE APP?
Upon a gunfire detection alert, push alert notifications are immediately sent to team member mobile devices. In addition, SMS text messages are sent to an unlimited number of contacts in a user-managed list.
CAN SAFE ZONE INTEGRATE WITH OTHER SYSTEMS?
Yes. The Safe Zone API integrates with other systems such as door locks/access control, alarm panels, cameras and emergency notification systems that can be programmed to respond in the event of an alert.
HOW DOES MY SAFE ZONE GUNFIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM STAY UP TO DATE?
The machine-learning system continuously integrates new data as testing continues, training exercises are conducted, and actual events occur, constantly improving its abilities. Every gunfire detector deployed is updated automatically over the network, ensuring that every detector is always up to date with state-of-the-art performance.
IS THE SYSTEM COMMUNICATION RELIABLE?
Absolutely. Many business critical systems like voice over IP and security cameras already rely on cloud connections. Because the Safe Zone machine-learning system is hosted on Google cloud service with redundant locations across the planet, should any service location have an issue, data signals are automatically rerouted in real time to the next available location with no degradation in performance. There are also many proven strategies for local network reliability including the uptime performance of a business grade broadband connection, redundant internet provider connections and/or cellular backup. All of these cloud connection strategies cost a fraction of recurring costs of competitive gunfire detection systems.
HOW DO I KNOW IF THE SYSTEM IS WORKING?
Each detector has a visible LED diagnostic light color-coded to inform you of its status. Each detector has a “heartbeat” – that is, each detector sends a signal to the Safe Zone cloud service every 60 seconds. If any heartbeat is missed, the administrative user is alerted immediately via the app or dashboard. The app has a page to see the status of all active gunfire detectors on the system.
HOW DOES THE HIGH DENSITY OF GUNSHOT DETECTORS MAKE A BETTER GUNFIRE DETECTION SYSTEM?
One advantage of the Safe Zone blanketed detector protection over other gunshot detection systems is that, in the event of any gunfire, a high detector density system will be more likely to have line of sight to the muzzle flash. With a superior price point, Safe Zone can provide more protective zones for better performance. Additionally, the Safe Zone system utilizes the data from several gunfire detectors simultaneously. This network approach provides additional data and allows the system to be much more accurate about locating gunshots and identifying the firearm type.
HOW MANY GUNSHOT DETECTORS DO I NEED?
Each detector provides approximate coverage of room up to 30’ x 30’ x 10’ (9,000 ft3). In larger rooms or hallways, we recommend spacing the detectors 30’ apart for best results. Contact your local dealer, regional representative or the Safe Zone office for assistance in designing your installation.
CAN I CHANGE THE ALERT CONTACT LIST?
Yes, easily. The alert contact list (list of persons that are alerted via text, for example coworkers or students) can be entered/edited in the dashboard or app and can be uploaded via .csv file for larger lists. For organizations with frequently changing rosters, the list can be edited by the system administrator any time.
HOW DO I SET UP THE SYSTEM?
The gunfire detection system connects to the local network via Wi-Fi or Power over Ethernet. No additional bandwidth is needed. Through the Safe Zone app running on a smart phone or tablet, Bluetooth is utilized to initially set up the detector with network credentials. Each detector is located and also assigned a name (i.e. “Room 210”). A floor plan (for every building and floor level) is uploaded to the system via a web browser-based dashboard. In the dashboard, each of the detectors are displayed in an intuitive user interface where the installer simply drags and drops the detector onto its location on the floor plan.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
The Wi-Fi Gunshot detector sells for MSRP $199.95. The power over ethernet Gunshot detector version sells for MSPR $299.95. All gunfire detectors are bundled and sold in boxes of ten through your local Safe Zone authorized dealer.
ARE THERE ANY CONTINUING CHARGES?
There is a recurring annual fee ($25/yr) per gunshot detector which includes the digital connection for alerting authorities when an event occurs, monitoring the system’s health with periodic tests and diagnostics, and the automated push of system updates providing continually improved performance.
WHAT OTHER EQUIPMENT DO I HAVE TO BUY?
None. The Safe Zone system does not require any on-premise PC, Server or hardware beyond your existing internet access means (WiFi or installed Power over Ethernet).
HOW ARE THE SAFE ZONE GUNFIRE DETECTORS POWERED?
The basic WiFi gunshot detector will accept between 5 and 12 volts DC. This can come from a centralized multichannel power supply or a compact plugged-in wall AC to DC power unit, or even a USB jack will supply sufficient power. The current requirement is very low (about 200ma), so the required wire size is very small. Simply account for voltage drop across the distance from the power supply.
The gunfire detector also comes in a Power over Ethernet (PoE) version that is 802.3af class 2 compliant.
WHERE IS SAFE ZONE MADE?
Safe Zone is proudly designed and manufactured in the USA, on the Melbourne, Florida Spacecoast.
WHERE CAN I BUY SAFE ZONE GUNSHOT DETECTORS?
Safe Zone is sold through prominent national distribution (currently ADI, Anixter, and Wesco) to security, IT/AV, and electrical integration companies throughout North America. Contact your regional representative or the Safe Zone office for help in locating your nearest dealer.