SOS Technologies to Deploy "Direct-to-First-Responder" Emergency Alerts in NYC Public Schools

Over the course of the 2025-2026 school year, EAS protection will expand to cover 25 NYC school buildings, representing 51 public schools across the city’s five boroughs.

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SOS Technologies

Oct. 29, 2025

2 min read

*Mayor Eric Adams announces the nation’s first pilot directly integrating public schools with 911 Services. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office*

SOS Technologies, a provider of life safety and emergency communications solutions, today announced a partnership with New York City that would see its Emergency Alert System (EAS) deployed across NYC’s public schools.

Serving 1.8 million students and staff, NYC is home to the largest public school system in the world. The initiative, created in partnership with the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), aims to link NYC’s public schools and first responders with instant communications that, according to SOS, cut notification times from minutes to seconds.

The EAS platform establishes seamless, geo-located communications with first responder agencies like FDNY, NYPD, and PSAC 911. It also offers continuous real-time monitoring, GovRAMP-Authorized cybersecurity, and extensive system redundancy.

“From day one, our mission has been to help improve life safety systems through innovative technologies,” said Paul Averill, President and COO of SOS Technologies. “By directly linking New York City Public Schools to the city’s first responder communication infrastructure, we’re closing a critical gap in emergency notification and response times. With the announcement of this important NYC initiative, we are optimistic that other cities across the country will adopt these technologies to help revolutionize communication between public and private institutions and first responders.”

The system debuted at Brooklyn’s Spring Creek campus, the first school campus in the US to offer direct-to-911 first responder integration. Over the course of the 2025-2026 school year, EAS protection will expand to cover 25 NYC school buildings, representing 51 public schools across the city’s five boroughs.

“New York City is setting a new national standard for school safety,” said Travis Leonardi, Chairman and CEO of SOS Technologies. “For the first time ever, public schools are directly tied into a city’s 911 first responder life-safety communications infrastructure. We are honored to be a part of the technology that helps safeguard the lives of NYC students and educators.”