Active shooter training is any type of program designed to teach students want to do in a situation with an active shooter. This is someone who has a firearm and shoots that weapon around others. Many schools require that teachers and others workers go through the training to learn what to do during a school shooting, but businesses and nonprofit organizations use training to prepare workers too. These programs are available from different organizations and through some websites like the one maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Program Basics
It sometimes seems like it’s impossible to turn on the news without hearing about another school shooting or a mass shooting today. This type of situation can occur at anytime and in any place, including while at work or watching a film with some friends. Basic training programs teach students exactly what to do when they see a shooter. They learn how to find an exit point to escape the situation safely or how to find a safe spot to stay until the shooting stops. Training programs also go over how to manage anyone in the vicinity and both how to contact the authorities and what to tell them.
Who Can Go Through Training?
Anyone with concerns about how they would react during an emergency can go through this type of training. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offers resources for private citizens, those who work in security and management positions, students taking part in an active shooter workshop and first responders such as police officers and firefighters dispatched to emergencies. Private companies offer training sessions that are suitable for larger groups. These businesses teach individuals what to do and then run drills to make sure that they understand what they learned.
Where is Training Available?
These training programs are available both online and off. FEMA offers a class that individuals can take online, and the department will also work with organizations like schools that need to train larger groups. It requires that participants request a student identification number. Each participant will enter that number before taking the class and before taking the final exam that tests them on what they learned. Offline classes are available from private security firms and other companies. These training sessions can run for just an hour or take place over several days.
Training Benefits
Knowing what to do when a shooting happens is the biggest benefit of going through active shooter training. No one knows exactly how he or she will react or what he or she will do in one of these situations. These training classes teach students how to keep a cool head and how to stay calm, which can help them get others to a safe location and stay out of the line of sight of the shooter. In-person classes show people where to hide when a shooting happens in that location too and how to safely exit the building in a timely fashion. Training classes also teach students how to act when a shooting happens in a public location.
Both DHS and FEMA now offer online resources and training programs that teach individuals what to do during a shooting. Online and offline active shooter training teach students exactly what to do when the shooting starts, how to contact the authorities, what to say to the authorities and what to do until help arrives.
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