Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CENTERVILLE — It's one of the scariest scenarios a parent can imagine: a gunman walks into a school and starts shooting. However, now a Utah company is unveiling a new bulletproof door to prevent students from attacks in the classroom.
International Armoring Corporation, headquartered in Centerville, has already found a profitable niche in a violent world; they've armored 8,000 cars for officials, celebrities and business people around the globe.
"We've had over 300 attacks on these vehicles," said CEO Mark Burton. "Many, many individuals have been protected and saved."
Burton invented a crucial component, ArmorMax, a synthetic fiber panel which is relatively light-weight but which can stop bullets from pistols and even high-powered rifles. The company has now adapted a new, improved version of ArmorMax to protect students in the classroom.
"This has become a need in the United States now because of all the concerns that exist out there," Burton said.
The company set up a mock classroom at its Utah facilities and constructed prototypes of two different protection systems. They're designed for the chilling but all too familiar scenario, a gunman in the school.
"There's a notification, an alarm, of an intruder into the school," Burton said.
In seconds the teacher can walk from her desk to the classroom door and slide shut a bullet-proof panel. It completely covers the doorway and, as it closes, it automatically locks and sends out an alarm.
- An AK-47
- An AR-15
- A .223
- All high-powered handguns
Since any school administrator who orders one would hope it's never used, the bulletproof panel can be made to look like a blackboard, a whiteboard or simply a bare wall. "It's something that looks like a normal part of the classroom on a day-to-day setting," Burton said. "But in a time of need it's something that can be used to save lives. And it will save lives."
The sliding panel is going on the market with a price tag of $1,800. For schools willing to spend $5,800, there's another approach, a partition of armor that can be moved into place to shield students even if a gunman enters the classroom.
"The alarm informs the students," Burton said as he demonstrated the set of movable panels. "They quickly rush to this corner of the building, of the classroom." When deployed, the device becomes an armored wall that protects a corner of the classroom, creating a triangular space where students can take refuge.
They have a sealed-off partition wall. You can actually fit 37 kindergartners behind here. They're tight, but they can fit in.
–Mark Burton, CEO of International Armoring Corporation
"They have a sealed-off partition wall," Burton said as he stood inside the protected space. "You can actually fit 37 kindergartners behind here. They're tight, but they can fit in."
The partition would be a solid defense against most hand-held weapons, Burton said as he held aloft several guns. "An AK-47, an AR-15, a .223, just about anything that you can put to your shoulder. It will also stop all high-powered handguns."
The idea for an armored classroom was actually brought to the company by administrators of two schools, one in Northern Utah and one in Arizona. They wondered if something could be done to alleviate security concerns.
"They are planning on purchasing this and installing it into their classrooms," Burton said.
He believes the company's solution is cheaper and safer than other widely-publicized proposals, such as individual shields for students or armed security guards in the schools.
"This will save many, many lives," Burton said.
