Why an intrusion alert must never sound like a fire alarm
The two signals call for opposite actions. A fire alarm means get out, evacuate, reach the yard. An attack or intrusion alert means the reverse: stay put, lock the door, barricade, keep quiet. A member of staff who confuses the two leads their class towards the danger.
This is why French regulation requires a signal that is distinct from the fire alarm and instantly recognisable by everyone. The unified PPMS (the mandatory safety plan for French schools, defined by the circular of 8 June 2023) covers both major natural or technological hazards and the attack-intrusion threat, and requires at least two drills a year, separate from fire drills, precisely so that this signal is recognised without hesitation.
An alert system is therefore not judged on how loud it is, but on a single question: will staff know, within a second, whether to evacuate or to shelter in place?
How the alert is raised, step by step
The system works on two levels. The first secures the site. The second, optional, alerts the outside world, and it is only triggered once the threat has been confirmed.
1. The alert is raised from the room you are in
A ServiceBip™ alert button sits in every occupied room: classroom, activity room, dormitory, canteen, covered playground, head teacher’s office, gatehouse. The adult present raises the alert from where they stand, without looking for a phone, without taking their eyes off the children, without crossing a corridor.
2. Every room lights up at the same time
One press is enough: the ServiceLight™ beacons installed in each room activate simultaneously. The signal is visual, so it cuts through the noise of a canteen as easily as the silence of a dormitory, and it reaches staff with hearing impairments. The school moves into lockdown.
3. Confirming the threat
An alert is not yet an established fact. Unusual movement in the yard, a forced door, an unidentified person in a corridor: the head teacher or designated staff check what is happening while the school is already protected. That is the whole point of a self-contained, silent first level: it secures the site without calling out emergency services, and buys the time to verify.
4. Alerting the outside : ServiceSOS™, optional
Once the intrusion is confirmed, and only then, the ServiceSOS™ is triggered. This compact 4G unit works independently of the radio installation: it sounds a siren and notifies up to ten recipients by SMS and phone call, with remote listen-and-speak. Those alerted do not need to be on site.
ServiceSOS™ is an option, not a prerequisite. A school can be fully equipped for lockdown without it, and add it later.
One colour per instruction
The ServiceLight™ beacon offers seven colours, and each button triggers its own. This changes what the system can do: instead of a single signal meaning only “something is happening”, the school gets a colour code that carries the instruction itself.
- Red : intrusion alert, immediate lockdown
- Blue : major hazard, flooding for example, with its own response
- Green : all clear, return to normal
- A fourth colour can be reserved for evacuation, or for a medical incident
This is exactly what the unified PPMS calls for: one document covers both major hazards and the intrusion threat, which demand different responses. A single-colour beacon forces staff to double the message by voice or phone. A colour code delivers it directly, in every room, at the same moment.
The head teacher’s remote
A ServiceBip™ Trio remote stays with the school’s leadership. Its three buttons change the alert mode or stand it down without moving: switching from red to green to signal the all clear, or moving to the evacuation instruction if the situation demands it.
Without it, only the trigger exists and standing down the alert relies on the voice, room by room. With it, leadership keeps control of the instruction from the start of the incident to its end, including during drills, where the return to normal must be as clear as the trigger.
Light, sound, or both
The question of an audible intrusion signal comes up in every school, and the answer depends on the response chosen.
The ServiceLight™ sounder can be switched on or off, button by button. Many schools choose silent mode for the first level: the light warns the adults without telling an intruder that the alert is circulating, and without panicking the youngest children. The siren belongs to the second level, with ServiceSOS™, when discretion no longer serves any purpose.
Where to place the equipment
The rule is simple: one button and one beacon in every space where children or staff are present, with no exceptions.
- Classrooms : button by the door, beacon visible from anywhere in the room
- Activity rooms and sports halls : noise makes an audible signal useless here; the beacon takes over
- Dormitories : light only, to warn the adult without waking the children
- Canteen, covered playground, yard : the busy moments, the hardest to cover by voice
- Reception, gatehouse and head teacher’s office : the entry points, and the post that confirms the threat
- Temporary buildings and annexes : linked by radio, with no trenching and no cable runs
Why wireless is the right choice for a school
The link is direct radio on the 433.92 MHz band. No wifi, no SIM card, no IT network, no subscription for the first level. The system depends on no infrastructure that could fail at the worst moment, and nothing passes through a server.
In practice: no cabling between buildings, no trench across the yard, no works during the school holidays. Range reaches 300 m in open field and up to 2 km with the ServiceAmpli™ repeater, which covers an entire school site, temporary classrooms included. The beacons plug into a socket and carry an integrated backup battery: a power cut does not disarm the system.
The system scales: up to 99 buttons per receiver. Equip one building this year and the new wing next year, replacing nothing.
Already deployed
More than 900 French municipalities are equipped, after ten years developing our wireless alert systems. Our alert solutions have featured on TF1, France 3, Europe 1 and France Bleu. See press coverage.
Funding
In France, school security equipment is eligible for the Interministerial Fund for Crime Prevention (FIPD). The authorities that fund the investment (municipalities for primary schools, departments for middle schools, regions for high schools) can apply for support. We supply the detailed quotation and technical specification needed for the application.
The equipment
- ServiceBip™ : the alert button, in every occupied room. In its Trio version it also serves as the leadership remote. From €39 excl. VAT
- ServiceLight™ : the 7-colour beacon, sounder that can be switched off, backup battery. €109 excl. VAT
- ServiceScreen™ : the gatehouse display, showing which room raised the alert. €190 excl. VAT
- ServiceAmpli™ : the repeater, linking buildings up to 2 km apart
- ServiceSOS™ : optional, the 4G alert to the outside once the threat is confirmed. €190 excl. VAT
Frequently asked questions
Can the alert be stood down remotely?
Yes, using the leadership’s ServiceBip™ Trio remote: one button turns the beacons green to signal the all clear, another switches to the evacuation instruction.
Can the signal be completely silent?
Yes. The sounder on each beacon can be disabled independently. Many schools keep light only for the intrusion alert, so as not to tell an intruder that the alert is circulating and not to frighten the youngest children.
Is wifi, an internet line or a subscription required?
Not for the lockdown system: the link is radio, direct between buttons and beacons. Only ServiceSOS™, which is optional, uses the 4G network and needs a line, either your own SIM card or an all-inclusive plan.
What happens during a power cut?
ServiceLight™ beacons and the ServiceSOS™ unit have an integrated backup battery. The buttons run on batteries and do not depend on mains power at all.
Does the system cover several buildings?
Yes. The ServiceAmpli™ repeater relays the signal from one building to another, up to 2 km in open field, including to temporary classrooms and annexes.
Is ServiceSOS™ mandatory?
No, it is an option. The first level (buttons and beacons) is enough to secure the site. ServiceSOS™ is added when you want to be able to alert the outside once an intrusion has been confirmed.
How long does installation take?
Equipment ships pre-programmed and paired. Fitting requires no specialist technician and no work on the building fabric: mount the beacons, place the buttons, and the system is live.
Related solutions
See our solutions for security, meeting rooms, clinics and condominiums.
For a specific school, tell us how many rooms need equipping and how the buildings are laid out: we will draw up the equipment plan and the quotation. Request a site study.