New App Puts Safety Info at Your Fingertips

New App Puts Safety Info at Your Fingertips

 

It’s 3:30 a.m. and a siren is blaring outside your window. What do you do? Where do you go? How do you get there?

If you don’t know the answers, don’t worry — UA has an app for that.

The UA Safety App is focused on The University of Alabama campus and provides students, employees and guests with vital information that can be helpful in an emergency, said Donald Keith, director of UA Emergency Preparedness. It has emergency contact numbers, a built-in GPS to every building, shelter locations and safety guidelines for potential hazards.

“It is important to put emergency information in a readily accessible format that is easy to use so that students can make informed safety decisions,” Keith said. “The app has safety guidelines for every hazard. Knowing what is happening, what to do and where to go gives them the information they need to make good decisions.”

The UA Safety App will receive National Weather Service Information for Tuscaloosa County, as well as UA Alerts and current UAPD advisories, which are not available in other apps. The app is available for download on Android and IOS devices.

“The UA Safety App is truly incredible,” said sophomore Price McGiffert, a civil engineering major from Tuscaloosa who currently serves as the SGA Vice President for External Affairs. “It includes every single phone number that you could possibly need from the University Police to the DCH Regional Medical Center to the Poison Control Center. It also has a section that discusses the safety guidelines for severe weather, natural disasters and even human caused hazards.”

McGiffert encouraged students to download the app and take advantage of everything it has to offer. The directions to the various buildings will be particularly helpful to freshman or transfer students new to campus.

“We want students to be informed and know what to do,” Keith said. “Emergencies can happen anywhere at anytime. Whether it is a fire or severe weather event, knowing what to do will reduce the chance for injury. This app provides both notifications and safety information that give students, employees and guests the information they need to make good decisions.”

UA’s Office of Emergency Preparedness is accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). The designation is the only accreditation process for emergency management programs and is sought by federal and state agencies, counties, cities and universities.