Cut & Run or Duck & Cover?

When a lab experiment at CREATE Charter School in Jersey City went awry last Tuesday, an odorless vapor set off fire alarms and prompted evacuation of the facility. The Jersey City Fire Department was the first agency to respond, and it called in its Hazmat Unit when it learned the nature of the alarm.

Consider for a moment that last sentence: The Jersey City Fire Department was the first agency to respond, and it called in its Hazmat Unit when it learned the nature of the alarm. Emergency response teams could not have immediately known the “nature of the alarm,” let alone the students, because their warning came in the antiquated form of the one-sound-fits-all alarm system we’ve all learned to respond to by proceeding in an orderly fashion to the nearest exit. In this case, evacuation was fortunately the appropriate reaction. But what if the emergency had consisted of, not toxic vapors or fire, but an approaching tornado or deranged gunman? The logical response to one emergency situation could prove extremely detrimental in another and in this, the Information Age, it seems particularly odd that we have not yet implemented warning systems which alert us to the difference. A system which effectively tells us–instantly–when we need to Run and, conversely, when we need to Hide.

From Chapter 20 of Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age:

“The following concept came to mind during an event that took place while I was writing this book. On that early spring day in April 2007, when chaos put the sleepy town of Blacksburg, Virginia, on the world map forever, and the U.S. record was surpassed for ‘most massive serial killing spree,’ officials blamed the two-hour delay in notifying the students that a killer was on the loose, on communication problems. It seems that text messaging 25,000 students would have jammed the telecommunications systems, and emails (less than an instant signal) would have been inefficient. Alarm bells could have helped, but after scores of years of exposure to fire drills, most people deliberate whether or not an alarm is real (and doubt it). Furthermore, they would have no idea that the alarm was related to anything other than a fire drill.

“After one singular practical drill with an identifiable branded scent, every student on campus could be made aware that a killer was on the loose within minutes, if not seconds. A scent release system within each building and upon the perimeters of a campus could be the quickest signal of any currently in place. The emotional intensity of scent has the power to trigger an additional ‘inner’ alarm. This form of communication signal is how many other animals relay danger to others of their species, yet we have been slow to adopt it. We are biologically designed for this organic alarm system to be effective.

“In addition, an installed delivery system could warn of different types of dangers, by simply training the students to identify and acknowledge associated communication scents. The entire student population could immediately be warned, and be able to distinguish between a riot, fire, flood, or earthquake, and respond instantly with appropriate measures to ensure their safety. Another communication scent would denote an ‘all clear’ or ‘everything is safe’ signal. These types of systems could be implemented in classrooms all over the nation.”