Preparing for the Worst: How to Plan for an Active Shooter Scenario

Preparing your building, your tenants and yourself for the possibility of an active shooter event has never been more important

by Leah Grout Garris — Active shooter scenarios happen quickly and unpredictably, and are sometimes over before law enforcement ever arrives on the scene. This can make preparation seem daunting, but planning for an active shooter event at your property has never been more important.

“This type of planning requires a team effort,” says Ben Comm, managing director, principal at Cassidy Turley. “It may be spearheaded by building management, but it requires involvement from property managers, engineers, brokers and vendors, as well as staff from adjoining buildings.”

Walter Ulmer, president of emergency preparedness consulting firm Remlu, Inc., uses a diagram with four pillars — public, tenant, building and individual — to visually represent the entities that need to come together during an active shooter situation. “The first people taking action in these situations are typically tenants or building staff, so everyone must be prepared,” he emphasizes. He also says it’s crucial that all four of these pillars understand the roles of the others so that, if such a situation arises, there isn’t any confusion.

Resources to Help You Plan for an Active Shooter Scenario

BOMA Internationals Emergency Preparedness Guidebook: store.boma.org/products/emergency-preparedness-guidebook

The Department of Homeland Securitys Active Shooter Preparedness website: www.dhs.gov/active-shooter-preparedness

Here are some words of wisdom on preparing your building, your tenants and yourself for the possibility of an active shooter event.

Preparing Your Building

Gathering building floor plans, access cards and keys is an important first step. Ulmer recommends having two sets of floor plans in an envelope: one marked “police” and one marked “fire.” Any other relevant information, such as building information cards, can be included as well.

Create a plan for managing building systems during an active shooter situation. The goal is to limit movement of the shooter, so the building staff team should know when and how elevators will be recalled, whether a freight elevator will remain functional for police use, whether failsafe doors will be released and so on.

The Security Dialogue Continues

BOMA Magazine speaks with AlliedBarton Security Services’ Mike Coleman, vice president of Commercial Real Estate, and Brent O’Bryan, vice president of Learning and Development, to learn about today’s security solutions and emergency preparedness plans.

BOMA: What are some of the latest security solutions being integrated into commercial buildings?
Coleman: Mass notification and communications are being utilized more often. But I think it’s a blend of technology and personnel. From a personnel standpoint, there’s a focus on training and education. As part of this preparation, property managers also may want to think about gun laws that allow people to carry weapons. Determine how to enforce your policies and procedures when the local or state legislation isn’t always aligned with them.
O’Bryan: Unfortunately, there’s not one system that will stop active shooters. But there are procedures to follow, and they’re important to understand because building management is typically the first group to respond — even before law enforcement. Mass notification systems and evacuation procedures have the most immediate impact in an active shooter situation until law enforcement arrives.

BOMA: How can property managers best educate tenants about active shooter events?
Coleman: Participation and engagement must come from the top down. There is a very fine line between what the property manager can ask tenants to do — you don’t want to intrude on productivity and internal procedures. Bridge that gap by effective, meaningful programs that are succinct and timely.
O’Bryan: I agree. I was recently speaking with the chief of a security program. He had put together a great active shooter program and communicated it to all building locations and managers, but only six people showed up for training. So he sent a message to the organization’s leader explaining why support of this training was important. Once that message was communicated throughout the organization, several hundred people attended the next training.

BOMA: What is the one thing facilities professionals aren’t doing — but should be — to keep buildings secure?
Coleman: Maintaining an updated preparedness plan. The plan or protocol is often created and then just sits on the shelf. But you have to practice it, review it and update it. Property managers should be using their security constituents — law enforcement, security providers, etc. — to assess those things.
O’Bryan: Most property managers don’t have one tenant — they have several tenants in a building. Coordinate plans and see which of their tenants has a plan. Work with them and encourage them to develop their own plans, and then make sure those plans are shared. If an incident happens in one tenant location, establish a notification process for the other tenants.
Coleman: If a tenant plan isn’t consistent with the property manager’s plan, then it will result in confusion and chaos. Alignment of these plans helps ensure that the message is consistent.

Preparing Your Tenants

“Don’t leave tenants out of the loop — you must have real conversations with them,” says Comm. “The best preventative measure is for tenants to say something if they see something suspicious. They need to get used to reporting that, no matter the consequences.”

Establish a clear process for reporting conflict or suspicious activity. The information can be passed along to a threat assessment team (comprised of HR, security and other members) to make everyone aware of potential conflict.

But the most crucial message to share with the people inside your building is a phrase coined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to remind individuals of survival techniques to use in the event of an active shooter situation: “run, hide, fight.”

  1. RUN: If tenants can evacuate, then they should. Getting out of harm’s way is the first priority. They should be instructed to dial 911 once they’re safe.
  2. HIDE: If evacuating isn’t an option, then tenants should find a place to hide. They should secure the hiding place, turn off lights, lock doors and silence cell phones.
  3. FIGHT: If a tenant’s life is at risk, the last resort is to fight and incapacitate the shooter by finding nearby objects to use as weapons.

Depending on your jurisdiction, firefighters and EMS may be allowed into the building even if it hasn’t been entirely cleared. “There are metrics supporting the theory that, if they can get to a person within a certain number of minutes, his or her probability of surviving is higher,” explains Ulmer. “But some jurisdictions say that no one is allowed inside until it’s absolutely clear.”

So what should tenants who need medical assistance do in the meantime? Teach them to rely on self first-aid or aid from someone nearby. Providing education beforehand on first aid basics will help until medical assistance arrives.

Preparing Yourself

Comm and Ulmer both recommend property professionals read about prior active shooter incidents to be more prepared. “Even with the Washington Navy Yard shooting last year, there were at least 70 lessons learned that were outlined by officials in the aftermath,” says Comm.

But preparing yourself and the rest of the building team for an active shooter scenario requires more than thinking about the event itself — thinking about what happens afterward is just as important. “You may have people who don’t want to go back to the building afterward,” says Ulmer. “Or the building may need to be reconfigured or repurposed first.” He says nearly two-thirds of buildings that experience an active shooter event are repurposed.

Consider how grief counseling may be included in business continuity and disaster recovery plans. “Part of what makes the active shooter scenario so different from other events is the psychological aspect,” Ulmer notes. It’s likely that tenants will want access to these counseling services after they’ve survived an active shooter scenario.

The media affects disaster recovery efforts as well. “You’ll have media onsite immediately,” says Ulmer. “So you’ll want to know who’s addressing the media and what they’re going to say.”

Deciding how you’ll communicate with law enforcement, other building staff and tenants is also key. This job often falls to the property manager, so these tips may help:

  • Communicating with law enforcement: Call 911 once you’re aware of an incident and safe. Continue to call as you get more information to help first responders better understand the situation.
  • Communicating with staff: Buildings can be very compartmentalized; it’s possible for an active shooter to be present without most people realizing it. Ulmer says code words and phrases aren’t necessary: “Send a priority message stating that there’s an active shooter in the building.” And don’t forget that the “run-hide-fight” survival tactic applies to you and your team, too. “If you don’t survive, you can’t communicate with anyone.”
  • Communicating with tenants: Stay away from generic phrases like, “Remain at your workstations until further notice,” says Ulmer. Tenants need to know that an active shooter is in the building, and the fastest way to communicate this is through the all-call public announcement system. “You can say, ‘May I have your attention? An active shooter has entered the building. Please barricade yourselves in,” explains Ulmer. Mass notification systems and group e-mail lists also can help with communication efforts.

Bringing It All Together

Whether it’s through tabletop exercises or live drills, Ulmer says it’s imperative to put plans into action. “After the incident occurs, one of the questions lawyers may ask is, ‘What training did you provide?'” stresses Ulmer. “You can’t say, ‘We didn’t do anything because we were afraid.'”

Ulmer has seen success with both tabletop exercises and live drills. “When we run live drills, we make it very realistic,” he says. He tasks certain participants to knock on the doors of hiding places, acting as victims who need help. “Some participants open the door to let them in. But if you do that, you may be face-to-face with the shooter,” he emphasizes. To provide a visual representation of what may happen during a real active shooter scenario, Ulmer’s drill participants receive a red carnation to signify death and a pink carnation to signify injury.

Cassidy Turley holds roundtables with building staff, tenants and law enforcement or a security professional to discuss active shooter scenarios. “It’s energetic, it requires active participation and the tenants like it,” says Comm.

Participants also learn about the “run-hide-fight” philosophy. “This is a really important message in today’s work environment,” says Comm. “In the ’60s and ’70s, everyone had an office. They could get behind a big wooden door and lock it. With cubicles, there are fewer great hiding spots.” An exercise or drill helps tenants think about potential hiding spots when offices aren’t available.

The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics figures illustrate just how common active shooter events are becoming in the workplace. The statistics, which report workplace homicides due to shootings in 2010, indicate a steady increase in these incidents.

However, by working with tenants, law enforcement and other team members, property managers can positively influence the outcome of an active shooter event. “Focus on teaching tenants and staff a few basic actions, and make sure they do them well,” Ulmer emphasizes. “These are quick-moving incidents, but teaching people what they’re supposed to do and identifying hiding spaces beforehand can absolutely make a difference.”

About the Author: Leah Grout Garris is a freelance writer based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has spent more than 10 years writing for the commercial building industry. She can be reached at leahbgarris@gmail.com or www.leah-writes.com.

BOMA Magazine is the official magazine of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International. It is a leading source for the latest news, issues and trends affecting the commercial real estate industry.