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Midway High School instructor turns fire hoses to school safety devices

Teachers and administrators at Midway Independent School District have come up with a simple but effective tool to prevent active shooters from coming inside a classroom.

MIDWAY, Texas — When Midway High School asked Shawn Rejcek to turn used fire hoses into safety devices for school doors, the agriculture science instructor delivered.

The result was the Blue Heart Project: A 10 to 12 inch safety sleeve designed to slide on door dampers during lockdowns. Rejcek said one 50 foot hose is enough for approximately 45 to 50 classrooms.

"This may be just a little extra layer of security in an event that hopefully never happens," Rejcek aid. "It could buy seconds-- maybe minutes."

The Blue Heart was effective enough it was offered across the district.

"We started producing them for our campus and decided why stop there," Rejcek​​​​​​​ said. "So we decided to offer them to other campuses in the district."

The sleeve has spread beyond the district as well. After Facebook post about the Blue Heart went viral, people across the country were asking how to use the sleeves in their own communities.

"When we shared the post our hope was just that people can take this idea and implement it into their area," Krista Burch said. "Regardless of if they use the Blue Heart, we are just hoping to get this as wide spread as possible.

Rejcek said this is a step to making sure school communities are safer in case of tragedy. The sleeve could be an especially good resource for schools in rural communities.

"If we can offer something that is free-- especially to districts that may already be strapped-- why not do it if it's nothing more than our time and the good will of fire departments who are donating the hose," Rejcek​​​​​​​ said.

Rejcek​​​​​​​ said the Blue Heart is only supposed to be used during an active shooter situation. They are not a replacement for a lock. He says a locked door is still the best line of defense.

School teachers looking to use the device in a class room must check with school administrators and get clearance with local fire departments.

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