PARSIPPANY — It is a question most of us have not even considered: What would you do if a shooter walked into the building where you are, right now, and started firing? In an effort to help inform building management professionals on this important topic, Planned Companies, the fast-growing real estate services provider operating in 11 states, conducted an online Active Shooter Protocol Webinar earlier this month.
Planned Companies is located at 150 Smith Road.
According to statistics, more than one active shooting episode takes place a day throughout the country. Some are covered extensively in media, while many more are a lot less known, such as a domestic violence episode that escalates into gunfire.
“No one likes to talk about things like this, because it is a very uncomfortable topic,” said retired police officer Dino Iuliano, now the Chief Revenue Officer at Planned Companies, who led the session with anti-terrorism experts and former NJ Transit Police Supervisor John Reichert. “No one ever expects a gunman to appear in their building lobby, but, in a year of increased levels of civil unrest, we have learned to expect the unexpected.”
“If your building’s crisis plan hasn’t been updated in a few years, you can’t afford to wait any longer,” Reichert said. “The more prepared you are, the better a chance you have of surviving an active shooter incident and protecting those around you.”
During the session, Iuliano and Reichert reviewed the three things people can do if an active shooting situation DOES occur: run, hide and fight. They shared examples from different well-known active shooting events and shared educational videos from sources, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Having a plan is one thing – but you also need to practice it. That will ensure you are prepared if something were to occur,” said Iuliano. “People often overlook the different ways that people can just enter a building lobby. Can you reduce the ways for someone to enter a building? Are there doors that can be locked? If you can keep your building secure every day, it can help to prevent a bad situation.”
A video of the active shooting webinar is available on the Planned Companies YouTube page. For more information, please e-mail by clicking here.
About Planned Companies
With more than 100 years and four generations of experience, Planned Companies has become one of the fastest-growing and most respected real estate service providers within the industry. Planned provides industry-leading janitorial, maintenance, concierge/front desk, and security services to a wide array of clients across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and the western region to over 1,000+ residential, corporate, commercial, and retail properties. For more information on Planned Companies, call 1-888-706-8600 or click here.
