Association News: Active shooter response training offered as part of the FGIA Hybrid Fall Conference

Participants at the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) 2021 Hybrid Fall Conference (Oct. 18-21) will have the opportunity to take part in safety sessions focused on preparing for and disarming active shooters, led by Donny Hawkins and Mike Britt of Sentinel Security Group LLC. Both trainers provide security consulting, education and training to help organizations protect their teams. Committed to encouraging team solution training through on-site security evaluations, tabletop incidents, and review of past and current situations, Hawkins and Britt will teach how to effectively stop a threat from harming others. Two sessions will be offered: an across-the-board session for both in-person and virtual event participants and a hands-on session exclusively for in-person participants at the conference in Phoenix.

"As a safety professional, I have been actively involved in threats against our team, and the solutions, techniques and expertise offered by Sentinel is simply some of the best I have ever seen. I recommend this training to any company who is struggling with how to deal with this very real threat and am proud to have Sentinel as a resource to help keep our team safe," said Mike Troutman, vice president of environmental, health and safety excellence for MI Windows and Doors, and co-chair of the FGIA Fenestration Safety Committee.

Sentinel Security Group continues to evolve in their training methods and learn from events occurring worldwide, while being flexible enough to meet specific crisis management needs. These sessions on mitigating risks from active shooters are sponsored by the FGIA Fenestration Safety Committee. Space is limited, and a participation form is required for the hands-on session.

Preparing for Active Shooters and Preventing Mass Casualties | When to Run, Hide or Fight
This across-the-board session will take place Wednesday, Oct. 20, and will consist of a presentation, lecture, discussion and demonstrations. The one-hour presentation will cover:
• The problems with run, hide, fight and mitigation factors
• Run, hide, fight concept in-depth
• Run, hide, fight interactive scenarios
• Survivor mindset (mental preparation and mental practice)
• Characteristics and signs of an active shooter
• Physical security mitigating factors

Disarming Active Shooters and Responding to Mass Casualties | Hand-to-Hand Takedown Tactics
This hands-on session will be presented twice: once on Wednesday and again on Thursday, Oct. 21, and is available exclusively to in-person conference attendees. Participants should wear loose fitting clothing and remove all jewelry and disclose any existing injuries prior to class. The one-hour hands-on session will cover:
• Tactical considerations for warehouse, office and public areas
• Basic active shooter defensive tactics
• Active shooter exercise (run, hide, fight)
• Team takedown exercise
• Control holds
• Weapons familiarization training
• Weapons disarming (pistol, knife, rifle)

"The services offered by Sentinel Security are sorely needed in this turbulent time as we confront frustrated individuals who believe violence is the only solution," said Troutman. "It is our duty to protect our team, and Sentinel Security continues to support that mission by giving us the tools needed to confront this threat, not only at work, but in our personal lives. Sentinel has been instrumental in organizing and preparing us for the unexpected and forcing our team to plan, involve, commit and react as threatening incidents develop and to recognize and defuse potentially dangerous situations."

Registration for both the in-person and virtual experiences are now open for the FGIA 2021 Hybrid Fall Conference.

About the Speakers
Donny Hawkins has more than 28 years of law enforcement, physical security, anti-terrorism and investigations experience. He previously served as a police office, SWAT team member and many other roles in law enforcement. He is an instructor in firearms training and defensive tactics.

Mike Britt has more than 24 years of anti-terrorism, physical security and high value asset protection experience. He served as an inspector general command investigator for the Department of the Navy. He is a Certified Level II Instructor through the U.S. Army and has held several other military positions.

For more information about FGIA and its activities, visit https://FGIAonline.org.

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