Opportunity

Blounty County, Tennessee, was seeking a solution to update the panic button system used throughout their various county buildings. The panic button system did not provide the county with the detailed information they needed, but rather only offered limited information in the instance of an emergency. Speaking on the utility of the panic button system, Don Stallions, Blount County’s Director of General Services, stated it would only “let you know that there’s an alert in the county clerk’s office, even if there may be 9 buttons in that zone. [Responders] didn’t have a name, they didn’t have a camera, just what zone the emergency is taking place in.” Due to the lack of information, emergency response was at risk of being delayed and inefficient.

Solution

Blount County implemented SARA, a situational awareness and alerting solution to provide enhanced mobile duress throughout their county buildings, including their probation office, recovery court office, mall location, schools, and more. During a triggering event, SARA automatically sends out detailed alerts to the proper personnel or first responders (on their specified devices) to ensure quick and correct action can be taken to manage any situation. Prior to implementing SARA, Blount County had invested in a brand-new camera system and instead of replacing it, SARA is able to enhance it. By integrating with the camera system, SARA can pull live-video feed to be used during an emergency. When a triggering event occurs, the live video-feed from the camera(s) nearest to the location of the triggering alarm are automatically attached to SARA’s alerts. This allows responders to properly assess the situation and to make informed decisions before they’re even on the scene. 

With SARA’s customizable solution, each county building is able to tailor the technology to their unique needs. For example, Blount County’s courthouse is now able to use SARA to activate a weather evacuation with the simple press of a button. When this button is pressed, SARA immediately alerts staff of the situation and gives instructions to proceed to the shelter in the basement of the building. 

Regarding why Blount County chose SARA, Stallions expressed, “The selling point for us on the system was the adaptability, that really we could all be on the same platform and accomplish different goals.”

Results

• Unification of the entire county
• Each building is able to customize their solution to accomplish their unique goals
• First responders are now armed with detailed information to be able to appropriately respond to an unfolding situation
• Blount County Schools acquired a safety solution that connects them directly with the police and other first responders to enhance school safety

About Blount County

Blount County is one of the oldest counties in Tennessee. The County contains 558 square miles and is bordered on the east by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and on the west by the great chain of lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The County contains 558 square miles and is bordered on the east by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and on the west by the great chain of lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Blount County is a statutory county, governed by the Blount County Commission and the County Mayor. The central department of the government is housed in the Blount County Courthouse which is located in the City of Maryville.