Orange County fire chief recommends changes to safety panel created after Parkland shooting

SUNRISE, Fla. — There could soon be changes statewide on how schools complete fire drills.

A group of leaders met in South Florida Tuesday to discuss recommendations about keeping students safe.

The state fire marshal's office is considering changes to the fire code and how students evacuate schools.

Parkland officials said Majory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz pulled the fire alarm, making evacuating students and teachers easy targets.

Orange County Fire Rescue Chief Otto Drozd on Tuesday spoke before a safety commission created by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act.

The panel comprises educators, law enforcement officers and lawmakers, who were asked to review school safety policy after the Valentine's Day rampage during which 17 people were killed.

"It has to be something that has some forethought," Drozd said.

Drozd said he knew things needed to change in June 2016 when 49 people were killed in the Pulse nightclub terror attack.

He recommended officers and firefighters train together to come up with a shared plan that includes an agreed-upon location, where families could receive news about loved ones.

"When we look at the Pulse incident, the unification center changed three times," he said.

Drodz also brought up possibly having lights with different colors to establish the type of alarm in classrooms in case a fire alarm changes to a code red alert.

The safety commission hopes to see changes to the civil citation program for juveniles accused in minor and non-violent crimes.

The Broward County Public Schools had its own program that had dealings with the shooting suspect.

The panel wants state attorneys to administer the program instead, and they want to limit of civil citations a student can receive.

Some of the recommendations coming out of the meetings will require approval from state lawmakers.

The commission will reconvene Wednesday morning.

Cox Media Group