The Emergency Action Plan is designed to provide a set of protocols that can be used in responding to an active shooter event and when one is faced with a hostile or threatening situation. While the term active shooter is widely used in the media and the security industry, we believe this term is self-limiting. Thus, we have elected to combine protocols for active shooter and hostile threats to encompassing those situations where an aggressive individual may not be armed in the traditional sense (i.e., guns and bullets) but may have other weapons (e.g., knives, explosive devices, blunt objects, etc.) or maybe exhibiting behaviors which require an emergency action response.
This Emergency Action Plan protects building occupants from severe injury or loss of life. It describes the initial responsibilities and actions to protect all occupants until the appropriate first responders or law enforcement authorities arrive to take over.
The information provided in the Emergency Action Plan has been assembled from various government agency materials, security resources, and other documentation concerning active shooter / hostile threat safety guidelines. For ease of use, the document is segmented into two main sections: (1) General Guidelines; and (2) Specific Guidelines. The General Guidelines section provides standard protocols for all active shooter and hostile threat scenarios. General guidelines will address the following: threat identification, the proximity of threats, staff leadership roles, and response. The Specific Guidelines will set forth the circumstances and procedures for the sheltering-in-place, in-building relocation, and evacuation of building occupants.
Our team will visit each location to identify egress options for evacuations, available safe rooms, and exterior rally points. Each plan is specifically customized to the site, and many of these items can be integrated into existing floor plan diagrams (if provided). In addition, the plan is designed to include other valuable information so that it may be used as a training document for faculty and staff.