New NFPA 3000 supports preparedness and coordinated response during active shooter incidents
Today marks the one year anniversary of the attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. At the NFPA, we honor the 49 innocent individuals that were taken that day by marking this week as the beginning of the development of NFPA 3000: Standard for Preparedness and Response to Active Shooter and/or Hostile Events.
The Pulse incident, along with several others throughout the past year, highlight a need for first responders, emergency managers, facilities, hospitals, and communities as a whole to be on the same page when these incidents occur. The resilience displayed in places like Orlando, Boston, London, Connecticut, and many others show that we as a community can and must work together to ensure that we never allow terror or evil to win. NFPA 3000 will give communities a resource to be prepared in the event that the unthinkable happens.
The process of developing NFPA 3000 began with a request by Fire Chief Otto Drozd III from Orange County Florida in October of 2016. Since then, we have sought public comment and committee applications to form a Technical Committee to develop the Standard. In just four short months we received over 100 positive comments and committee applications. In April of 2017, the NFPA Standards Council unanimously approved the new Standard and Technical Committee.
The Technical Committee is chaired by Richard Serino, recently retired COO of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, former Chief of Boston EMS, and current faculty member at Harvard University. The Committee has representatives from the DHS, DOJ, FBI, International Association of Police Chiefs, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Association of EMTs, IAFF, EMS Labor Alliance, Hospitals, Facility Managers, Private Security, Universities, and more. This broad group collectively brings over 200 years of experience to the table, many of which include experience responding to active shooter/hostile incidents.
On June 9, 2017 Chief Drozd authored an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel highlighting his reasons for requesting that the Standard be developed. One important issue that he points out is that there are numerous guidance documents from individual organizations, but currently no consensus standard. He also speaks to the inspiration he felt in the aftermath of the Pulse attack and his motivation for wanting a tool for others to use so that more lives can be saved in the future. We honor those that were lost at the Pulse with this work and hope that others may live on thanks to the lessons learned and their memories. As Chief Drozd says, “So that Others May Live.”
The NFPA and the Technical Committee need the help of the public to make this the best standard it can be. Anyone can come to a meeting or make inputs and comments to the draft once it is posted. If you would like to know more and follow along with the development of NFPA 3000, please go to www.nfpa.org/3000 and then click "receive email alerts" to receive updates on the development process as they are posted. Its a big world, let's protect it together!