An emergency lockdown was triggered due to user error of an alert system at Naperville Central on Feb. 25. The false alarm was triggered at 7:35 a.m. due to an accidental activation by a staff member through their CENTEGIX ID badge.

The ID card system allows for any staff member in the building to trigger a lockdown by clicking a button on their ID card eight times or holding it down for an extended period of time. Staff were trained on the system on Feb. 5 and 6, which also informs an emergency response team where exactly the alarm was triggered and can alternatively act as a help button without triggering a full-scale lockdown.

“This morning at approximately 7:35, the alarm was triggered, and our students and staff promptly followed our safety protocols by moving to a position of safety,” wrote Principal Jackie Thornton in an email to students and parents. “After a thorough check, it was confirmed that there was no emergency and everyone returned to their regular schedules.”

The lockdown did uncover some issues with Central’s emergency alert system, as not all speakers in the building announced the automated alert after the lockdown was triggered, according to Thornton. Some of the square shaped

alarms which change colors after being activated also continued to flash even after the alert was cleared.

In an interview with the Central Times after the alarm system was originally installed, Thornton said that user error was a legitimate concern with the alarm system.

District 203 schools utilize an emergency response training system called ALICE, which instructs students and staff to alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate, in no sequential order in the case of an emergency incident.

“I think it was a real life ALICE,” Thornton said. “Where are you? Do you see any stimulus or danger? And should you evacuate? Fortunately, we very soon knew it was all clear.”