ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County schools are one step closer to being prepared for emergencies.
Active shooters, natural disasters, fires and medical issues -- all require first responders to navigate campuses quickly.
"We always learn from situations," St. Louis County Police Department Chief of Police Kenneth Gregory said police learned about Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA).
"They had a hard time finding which doors to get into," he said.
Many schools are a maze of hallways, doors and windows and not every first responder knows the building.
"We have seen when it comes to safety of our children, seconds can matter," St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder told 5 On Your Side. "We needed to find a way to minimize the time it takes to get to the place where first responders are most needed."
Your child's school may already have a system to aid first responders.
"St. Louis County fire departments are currently deciding individually whether to adopt the proposal as a part of their fire safety codes," Monarch Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Les Crews said. "Currently over half the departments in St. Louis County have adopted the code or are adopting it."
The new code calls for large, color-coded labels on all exterior doors and windows. Those colors and numbers then correspond to indoors signs on the floor and intersections.
The code also calls for a minimum height, all indoor numbers need to be 4-inches tall, and all exterior numbers need to be 6-inches tall ... so first responders can see them from a distance.
"Knowing where we are going inside the building will help us to dictate information to other responders that are responding," Gregory said. "It will help dispatchers to give them the correct information as to where they need to go. Obviously, the sooner we get to that situation ... the sooner we can end that situation."
For schools without the numbering system, if their local fire department adopted the ordinance or plans to, then it could take up to two years to get the color coding installed.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
5 On Your Side news app