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NFPA releases first active shooter standard

The standard includes guidance on unified planning, response and recovery guidance and civilian and responder safety considerations

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The NFPA 3000 Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program was created with insight from fire, EMS and law enforcement officials.

Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP

By EMS1 Staff

QUINCY, Mass. — The National Fire Protection Association released the first standard on active shooters and hostile events.

According to a press release, the NFPA 3000 Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program was created with insight from fire, EMS and law enforcement officials to provide guidance in unified planning, response and recovery, and civilian and responder safety.

“The NFPA 3000 process, from start to finish, has been an exceptional example of emergency responders and other safety-focused practitioners swiftly coming together to provide invaluable perspective and address a significant threat in our world,” NFPA president and CEO Jim Pauley said. “The proactive, integrated strategies recommended and defined in NFPA 3000 will go a long way in helping communities plan, respond and recover from active shooter and hostile events.”

A 46-member technical committee was formed to create NFPA 3000 and is the largest committee the organization has formed to date. Committee members gave real world observations and insight from mass casualty events such as the Las Vegas shooting, the Pulse Nightclub shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing.

This is the second time in NFPA’s 122-year history that they’ve issued a provisional standard.

“Our purview goes far beyond our fire safety efforts as evidenced by our ongoing work to address new hazards with professionals in public safety, emergency management, community risk, electrical services, the energy sector, engineering, the chemical and industrial industries, healthcare, manufacturing, research, the government, and the built environment,” Pauley said. “The recent increase in active shooter incidents and the fire service involvement in them warranted NFPA’s standards development expertise, and the timely development of NFPA 3000.”