UND to test ‘lockdown’ technology on Wednesday

Certain buildings on the UND campus will be temporarily “locked down” on Wednesday afternoon as part of a safety drill.

UND will test a new system that automatically locks outer doors… in case of an emergency where the campus community would shelter in place.

“We went through a vendor that provided the capability to push a button and to be able to electronically lock the doors, and we’re just trying to test that capability,” said UND Chief of Police Rodney Clark.

Clark says once the doors are locked, it will take up to 40 minutes to get reset things.

“After you’re done, you have to go in and electronically unlock each individual door,” Clark said. “There’s the capability to push a button and lock all the doors, but in order to unlock all the doors, you have to pay extra.

“And a lot of times, you really wouldn’t want that anyway, because in the event of a real emergency, it’s better to unlock buildings one at a time as they’re cleared by law enforcement.”

Anyone with electronic door access to buildings will still be able to access their offices and buildings. And they may leave the building during the drill.

The lockdown will start at 3:50 PM.