A nationwide push allowing schools to buy portable barricade devices they can set up if an active shooter enters their building has school security and fire experts questioning whether they're really safe.
Those opposed to the devices say they're complicated to install under stress and could lead to dangerous unintended consequences — including blocking authorities from an attacker inside a classroom.
"Unlisted, unlabeled, and untested," said a July report by Ohio's building codes board critical of the devices. Nevertheless, the board was forced to update its codes to allow the devices after lawmakers approved them this summer following testimony from manufacturers and parents of school children.
The devices have gained popularity in the wake of the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook massacres and a 2012 shooting in the Cleveland suburb of Chardon that killed three students. Some manufacturers post real-life 911 school emergency calls to their websites along with scary actor reenactments of intrusions.
Regardless of such sales tactics, many parents have legitimate concern about keeping their children safe in an era of mass shootings. ... But the National Association of State Fire Marshals says such devices could put people inside classrooms in peril — and run counter to recommendations made after the December 2012 Sandy Hook slayings. Critics say the devices could allow someone looking to do harm an easy way to cut victims off from help.