Teacher's invention could secure a classroom from the inside
CINCINNATI (Derek Drake) -- A middle school teacher from Iowa took the initiative to create something that makes securing a classroom during a lockdown cheap and easy.
It was through ALICE training that Daniel Nietzel, an educator at West middle School in Muscatine, Iowa and president of Fighting Chance Solutions, got the idea for "The Sleeve."
During training he and other educators and administrators were taught to secure the door to their room by tying a rope or belt around the closer arm at the top if they didn't feel safe exiting the room to lock the door from the outside.
But he said every time the active shooter scenario ran through, the officer portraying the assailant broke or ripped the object used to secure the door's closer arm.
So he got together with some fellow educators and they put their minds together to create a 12-guage carbon steel case the slides over the closer arm and can handle 550-foot pounds of force.
An official release for the product reads in part, "The team of educators understand the pressing need for schools and businesses to be able to lock a door from inside the classroom or office quickly and safely. They also understand that making any modifications to a door, (which in many cases may be 'rated' as a fire barrier), would not only be costly, but may violate state and/or federal fire codes."
"The Slider" costs $65 for individuals, but schools can order the product in bulk.
What do you think of the device? Is it something you think schools should place in rooms with these types of doors? Let us know on our Facebook page.
Online: Fighting Chance Solutions
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