Tag: active shooter

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Responding to mass CASUALTY events

Safety Reloaded is committed to the continued education and training of everyone, from a single person to large companies. With this in mind, we have partnered with several other groups to offer a variety of classes for all levels of experience. The Stop the Bleed course is designed to train civilians on how to respond in the event of a mass casualty. We push this course the most because of its life saving message.

The average emergency response time across the United States is currently 8 minutes and can be as high as 15-30 minutes in more rural areas. A lot can happen in 8 minutes, it can take as little as 5 minutes to bleed to death. The class provides the basics of bleeding control and first aid. We’ve partnered with the Department of Defense, Fist Care Providers, National Stop the Bleed Day, and iThrive to make this course available for as many people as possible.

Today, we wanted to discuss some key take-always from the class that could help you and your family in the future. While we hope you learn from this post, this is an overview of what is covered in the Stop the Bleed course. We highly recommend taking some kind of first aid class from a reputable group as it could save you or your loved ones life. We also suggest reading about Good Samaritan laws and the types of consent surrounding giving first aid, this won’t be reviewed today.

The first big thing to think of before providing first aid is protecting yourself.  This comes down to a couple things. First, you must ask, is it safe to give first aid? If you are rendering first aid after a mass casualty event, active shooter, or even a car accident, you need to make sure that you won’t add to the list of injured. Take a look at the scene for anything that could hurt you or put you in danger. If you attempt to give care and become injured yourself, you are now adding to the body count and making the first responder’s job harder.  

The second thing to think about for keeping yourself safe, is wearing gloves and other protective gear to keep yourself from coming in contact with someone else’s blood. Protecting yourself from Blood-borne Pathogens is crucial! Blood-borne Pathogens are infectious microorganisms in the blood and other potentially infectious materials (saliva, etc.) that can cause diseases. These are things like HIV, Hepatitis, Malaria, and others.  Many times people can have one of those and not even know it for years. The best method to protect yourself is nitrile gloves. If you have glasses, an apron, or a face shield, we highly recommend them as well.  Keeping other people’s blood off of you and out of any of your own cuts will greatly reduce the likelihood of getting a disease.  

Now that you’ve made sure the scene is safe and that you’ve protected yourself, we are ready to administer first aid. We won’t go over triage in this post, but I would tell you that if someone is screaming, that means they are conscious and breathing. You should check those who are unconscious first since they can’t tell you the extent or severity of their injuries. You find someone breathing but unconscious, first thing to do is a head to toe check looking for any significant bleeding or trauma, like an amputation or clearly deformed bone. Amputations of major body parts, ignoring fingers and toes, need a tourniquet even if they aren’t bleeding at the time. It will start bleeding and it will bleed a lot! 

There is a stigma surrounding tourniquets over the years that have led people to believe they are dangerous to use and will cause more damage than good. That’s grossly inaccurate. Most tourniquets can be left on for 2 hours without any long term damage. When properly applied, a tourniquet will compress the veins and arteries to stop blood flow to the wound and buy you time to get the injured person medical attention. Tourniquets are specifically designed for life threatening blood loss not for nicks and scratches. A few important things to know about tourniquets are that they should be high and tight above the injury. Don’t put them on elbows or knees, go higher if the injury is near those joints. If you apply a tourniquet and the flow of bright red blood doesn’t stop, tighten it more or add a second one above the first. Mark the time you apply the tourniquet so the ambulance or hospital knows.

This post scratches the surface of what is covered in bleeding control classes. You really need to take one to get the full hands on benefit of learning this material. The first responders and hospitals can be initially overwhelmed by the number of those injured during mass casualty events. Training covered in the Stop the Bleed can alleviate some pressure off them and can save someone from bleeding out before first responders arrive. When an event occurs, its the lay responders that can do most of the initial work.

The importance of knowing how to respond to incidents like active shooters and how to give proper first aid is critical when seconds count and help could be minutes away. Taking a class designed around controlling bleeding can save lives. There are dozens of these classes and most are designed for people 7 years and older to understand. Safety Reloaded offers Stop the Bleed, Control the Bleed, and Red Cross First Aid classes for families, churches, and businesses. Contact us to schedule your training!


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Recognizing potential violence

I’ve seen several stories lately in the news of random attacks on unexpecting victims.  The one I just read today, was about a deranged homeless man walking up a driveway and body-slamming a young boy onto his head.  As of the writing of this post, the boy is still in critical condition.  

This kind of attack highlights how infrequently we discuss the possibility of being attacked or how to recognize the signs beforehand.  These unprovoked attacks are generally horrific and traumatic for the recipient.  I want to explain some of early signs that you can look for before a physical assault.  In this post, I’m ignoring shootings and sexual assault and focusing on the blitz attack. A blitz attack is a sudden, overwhelming attack that can be vicious, focusing mainly use of the hands or a knife.  

Before I go on, I am not the end-all expert, and I don’t intend this to be a complete list of possible behaviors. These behaviors are specific to physical assaults.  Each person is different some will exhibit all of these and some may not.  The intent of me sharing these early warning signs is to educate you on identifying a possibile attack.  How you respond will be directly related to your training and awareness at the time. 

One of the first things I notice is the physical position of the individual.  To me, this means two things: their position in relevance to you and their position relative to other threats or escape routes.  Often someone who is planning to attack you will get inside your comfort zone, closing the gap they must overcome to physically hurt you.  The closer someone gets to you, the less room you have to respond to an attack and the fewer options you have to retreat.  Aggressors can also try to isolate you from friends or escape routes to ensure that they have a dominant position.  They may also position themselves closer to an exit to ensure a rapid escape after a blitz attack. The physical responses of a person are the next best indicators of intent. These are often subconscious, which can help give away their intentions. Things like changes in breathing, hands concealed or searching in a bag.   I specifically focus on their eyes, shoulders, and hands.  

Eyes can be tricky but very telling if you can learn to read them. Aside from the physiological response of pupil dilation before the confrontation, you will have someone who will usually stare through you.  Instead of being attentive and glancing from you to an object that you are talking about or to prevent uncomfortably long eye-contact, the person may almost be looking through you.  This distant stare is often associated with someone who isn’t paying attention because they are thinking about their next move, which may be against you. 

Their shoulders will mimic their stance. Most individuals will stand with their feet and shoulders square to the person they are talking to.  However, when someone is contemplating violence, they may stand with their feet slightly staggered to maintain balance during their initial attack.  So too the shoulders will angle with one closer to you and the other slightly farther away.  This is most common with someone who is going to sucker-punch or blitz attack. 

Open hands are usually a sign of peace or calmness.  If you see someone clenching their fists, this could be a sign of aggression.  Other aggressive tendencies may be shoving their hands far into their pockets, not just resting them. Their elbows will almost fully lock trying to push their hands further down.  A third thing to watch for is hands that go behind the body and the chest comes out and rocks forward.  This could be another precursor to them preparing to balance for an outgoing blow. 

The blitz attack is one that is usually the most vicious, happening in the blink of an eye.  These attacks are often so quick and violent that bystanders don’t even realize the severity of the situation for several seconds or minutes.  During this moment of confusion, the aggressor will casually walk away and melt into the crowd and disappear.  These are the attacks that are the most scary and can have little time or buildup to the attack. 

There are many different techniques, behaviors, and postures you can look for to identify possible aggression.  There is no overarching sign that will make everything instantly clear that someone is about to cause you or your family harm, which is why you should always be aware of your surroundings.  Talk to your children about ways to recognize when someone is acting erratic or what they should do if they are being approached by someone they don’t know.  I caution you to practice vigilance. Never let someone inside your personal bubble, know your escape routes, and train to respond instinctively to threats.  Without awareness and training, the precious half a second it takes for you to see the attack, recognize it, and respond may be too slow.

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First Firearm Choice

A lot of people ask me on input on their first firearms.  I am always incredibly uncomfortable answering this question for a variety of reasons.  Your first firearm is a very personal choice and needs to be based on your own needs, not mine.  My needs have been shaped by years carrying a gun for work and personal protection.  Below are my thoughts on what you should consider when buying your first firearm, or frankly any firearm.

First and foremost, what is the intent of the firearm? Is this a home protection only handgun? Plinking, competition, or every day personal protection?  The intent of the firearm will really shape a lot of your choices.  For instance, if I am going to get a gun for home protection only, meaning I won’t be trying to conceal carry it, then I would want a gun that fully fits my hand and has the most amount of ammo that I feel comfortable with.  There is no reason to get a sub-compact because many times you won’t be able to get a full grip on the pistol. 

Second is cost.  I will always caution people not to buy a firearm that is over $1,000 for your first purchase.  There are a huge range of great options for a lot less and if it’s your first one, you may not know if this is the right gun for you.  You may find later that a backstrap safety doesn’t feel good to you, or that the slide release is just a hair out of reach.  I would also caution against the cheapest options! Many times, the cheapest guns are that way for a reason.  Either because of reliability, cumbersome controls, or difficult maintenance.  Pick a cost you are comfortable with and know that you may not love the very first pistol you buy.

Next is features.  Do you want a manual safety, de-cocker, or options for replaceable sights, etc.? These can narrow down your search dramatically to help make the first choice less daunting.  Many people will tell you that you MUST have a safety, or ALWAYS buy a gun that you can change the trigger in, or NEVER whatever-other-sage-wisdom-they-have.  Ignore them.  What MUST ALWAYS matter to you is what you feel comfortable with.  If you won’t feel comfortable with a pistol that doesn’t have a safety, that’s what matters.  One feature that most people don’t think about and may be important to you is the availability of aftermarket parts. Some people love to customize the look and feel of their firearm.

Finally, and I’ve mentioned it a couple times now, is your comfort.  If you aren’t comfortable with the gun, you won’t use it. Plain and simple.  Hold the gun, rent one and test it out, talk to friends and read reviews, but be comfortable in your choice.  I love revolvers and they feel good in my hands.  Many new shooters find revolvers strange and awkward… and that’s ok! You need to be ok with the gun because you are the one that is going to own it.  No one else knows how it feels in your hands or how it feels when you fire the gun.   I caution you to take a safety course. You need to know how your newly purchased gun operates and how to do so safely.

Some of us were issued our first firearm and didn’t have the option early on, but for those of you who can make that choice of your first firearm, don’t make that purchase lightly.  I’ve bought a lot of pistols over the years and I still remember fondly the first pistol I purchased.  Remember to make sure it feels good in your hand, meets your needs, and has features that you want on it.  And again, I can’t stress enough the importance of taking a safety course. You can never have too much safety or training.