RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. — Surviving an Active Shooter Event

“Planning to have a plan is not a plan. There’s a need for leadership. It’s important that we take the appropriate steps to ensure our people are prepared and put the plan in motion.”

Jeremiah Hart, lead instructor and senior analyst at the Force Training Institute

The incredibly tragic events of this week serve as a stark reminder that while most would like to believe this sort of thing can never happen to them; the new reality is, it can.  Attached is a short video that was published by the City of Houston called “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT: Surviving an Active Shooter Event.”  This is a widely recommended reaction to teach employees in the event of an active shooter 

This is not a long post because the video should be the focal point.  I do want to make a broader point about the importance of having an emergency plan and training your employees to that plan.   Nearly every business I have interacted with is committed to safeguarding the interests of their employees, visitors, and contractors in the event of an emergency, disaster, or crisis.    

Responses to emergencies, disasters, and crises can be categorized into three main phases:

1. Preparation - development of a plan, training, gathering supplies, etc. This video could be a training tool for a defensive mode response to a crisis.
2. Defensive mode - immediate response; usually someone is“caught off guard”. Such incidents could include fires, explosions, active shooters and lightning strikes.  The response is immediate in nature. 
3. Offensive mode - can be taken before and/or after the incident; usually, someone is “braced” or have more time to calculate their responses. Such incidents can include hurricanes, northeasters, and floods. 

An emergency plan contains predetermined responses and guidelines to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of the employees. Ideally, the plan is developed in partnership with first responders, and in cooperation with community and local agencies.  A training program should be developed to educate employees on the plan.  The plan should be easily accessible and reviewed annually by team members and community partners.  There are a lot of resources available to help develop an emergency plan.  Local first responders and community organizations may have templates and may be willing to assist in the development of your plan.  Another good resource I go to often is Ready.gov "Make a Plan"  https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan  This website has a lot of great resources, tools, and checklists you can use to build your plan.  

Planning to have a plan is not a plan.  You owe it to yourself and your employees to make the time to develop an emergency plan and train to that plan.

Until next time, stay safe and be kind to one another.