No fire department is immune from response to violent incidents. Those incidents extract a heavy toll on responders and, when the incidents involve mass violence, a department can be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy and the threat the violence poses to firefighters and other first responders. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Crime Victims Research Center have produced a webinar focusing on several events that occurred where small and medium sized fire departments found themselves in the middle of some of the nation’s most horrific human tragedies.
The panel is moderated by Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder from the Loveland-Symmes (OH) Fire Department and includes:
- Assistant Chief Jerry Rhodes, South Metro (CO) Fire Rescue, discussing the 2012 Aurora Theater Shooting.
- Deputy Chief Kevin Grinder, Naval District of Washington (DC) Fire Department, discussing the 2013 Washington Navy Yard Shooting.
- Fire Chief Chris Thompson, District 1 (TX) Fire-Rescue, discussing the 2017 Sutherland Springs Church Shooting.
- Deputy Chief Carroll Spriggs, Annapolis (MD) Fire Department, and Battalion Chief Robert Vaccaro, Anne Arundel County (MD) Fire Department, discussing the 2018 Annapolis Gazette Mass Shooting.
Carve out some time to hear some hard-earned wisdom from a group of true fire service professionals having firsthand experience with situations we hope we never face but need to be prepared for.
Are you ready to handle a mass violence incident?
Watch and Download the Video and Use the Sample SOG
to Prepare Your Department to Respond to Mass Violence
Related:
- Fire Hero Learning Network Online Training: Responding to Violent Incidents
- NFPA: Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program
- Any incident can become violent: Preventing firefighters from becoming targets
- Initiative 12 White Paper (PDF)
- Firefighter Life Safety Initiative 12 Final Report (PDF)
- Nine Questions You Should Ask
- Are you ready to respond to a violent incident? Nine Questions You Should Ask
