The NJ Chapters of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) will host a special 10th Anniversary Symposium and Trade Show on Thursday, April 4, 2019 from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The event will highlight leading industry experts covering a wide range of topics including Telgian’s Vice President Tom Parrish, who will present a seminar on NFPA 3000 Emergency Preparedness from 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM. NFPA 3000, Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program, helps protect communities and identify the minimum program elements needed to organize, manage and sustain an active shooter or hostile event program. Communities worldwide are facing an increasing number of tragedies involving active shooter and hostile events, with catastrophic results. The most recent FBI statistics show that there were 250 active shooter incidents in the United States alone from 2000 to 2017, resulting in 2,217 casualties (799 killed and 1,418 wounded).
“NFPA 3000, Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program is the document that establishes a direction that communities and facilities can follow to plan for an active shooter or mass casualty event,” says Parrish. “Unfortunately these events are becoming more frequent, so we need to plan for them, as well as obtain equipment that may be needed.”
An integrated approach to active shooter and hostile events is more important than ever before. NFPA 3000, Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program is an essential resource for the public, community leadership, emergency management, first responders, facility managers, and healthcare officials. NFPA 3000 contains all of the components for a whole community response program, including completing risk assessments, identifying competencies for those involved, and establishing effective training.
“While NFPA 3000 may not be able to make these events stop; working together, we can make a difference in how we all plan for, respond to and recover from these events,” says Parrish. “The main objectives are to prepare a single set of requirements to be used by a whole community addressing unified command, integrated response, and planned recovery.”
According to John Montes NFPA staff liaison for NFPA 3000, the standard was, “…developed by a 50-member Technical Committee that includes representatives from law enforcement, fire, EMS, facility safety and security, hospitals, universities, private business, and federal agencies. The first-of-its-kind body of knowledge provides the framework that enables communities to establish comprehensive plans, policies, procedures and guidelines for dealing with ASHER events.”
About Tom Parrish, SET, CFPS, PSP
Tom Parrish’s background includes over 25 years of experience in fire protection and emergency response. He has held positions with municipal fire, law enforcement and emergency medical services and serves as an on-call firefighter certified in firefighting, emergency medical treatment, and hazardous materials response. Parrish represents Telgian on several NFPA technical committees and is frequently called upon as an expert presenter at fire protection and emergency response meetings and seminars around the globe.
To learn more about the NJSFPE-AFAANJ at 10th Annual Symposium or to register, please contact Jim Loftus at 973.590.0048 or james.loftus@siemens.com.