Learning From the Past: National Safety Shelters Shares How to Better Prepare When a Life-Threatening Scenario Presents Itself

PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla., June 8, 2022 (Newswire.com) - Preparing for worst-case scenarios is not a common practice. Yet ensuring the safety of friends, family, and loved ones has remained a priority for most Americans in the modern era. Unfortunately, the recent rise of violent crimes and natural disasters has put many American lives in danger — making it difficult for schools and businesses to find ways to protect students, staff members, and customers. National Safety Shelters, an organization specializing in the development of safety pods for schools and businesses, has collected key insights on this topic and has devised a superior safety protocol designed to save precious lives. 

Violent Crimes

The climbing number of gun-related incidents has caused serious concern across the country. From the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 to the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, active shooter events in the United States have been on the rise both in terms of frequency and severity.

Mass shootings are occurring at the rate of over 10 per week this year and are on the official radar of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In fact, the Bureau publishes an annual report recapping all the mass shooting-related incidents that have occurred over the past year.

This is a sad and terrifying reality. The statistics surrounding active shooter incidents are just as disturbing: At least 66% of active shooter events end before law enforcement even arrives. As a result, the teaching and implementation of employee response strategies have become standard for many businesses and schools in the United States. 

Weather Events

In addition to the increase in violent crimes in public areas, we have also experienced an increase in natural disasters caused by extreme weather. Tornadoes, derechos, and both micro and macro downbursts are three different kinds of wind events that share at least two important commonalities. All three are increasing in frequency across the United States and all three can cause serious injury, death and severe damage to residential homes and commercial properties.

Serious injury and death result from a lack of immediate accessibility to protection from collapsing buildings and flying debris.  

Response Strategies

One of the most common response methods for a violent attack taught in the United States is "Run, Hide, Fight." However, this method is inherently flawed, as it implies failure between the "Hide" and "Fight" stages. This strategy potentially puts individuals in danger, as it recommends that they should first run and hide somewhere (the "somewhere" may not exist or be inadequate), and if discovered, be prepared to fight an armed assailant. Hardly an ideal solution, especially for young children.

Protocols for extreme weather are often equally deficient, requiring individuals to hide under desks or in other equally ineffective places during a tornado or earthquake.

A Superior Solution

National Safety Shelters has devised a superior "RUN - SHELTER - WAIT" protocol made possible with the presence of their Hide-Away safety pods. The strategy involves simply to RUN to a nearby safety pod, SHELTER from the danger, and WAIT in safety for help to arrive.  

This strategy can be utilized during both a violent attack and an extreme weather event, such as a tornado or earthquake. These safety pods are made of bullet-resistant, ballistic steel, offering far better protection than hiding behind a makeshift barricade or fighting an armed assailant. They are also rated to withstand an EF5 tornado, offering a far superior solution to sheltering under a desk.

It is the mission of National Safety Shelters to educate the American public on the availability of these Hide-Away safety pods that allow for the deployment of far superior safety protocols that can mitigate the loss of life during violent attacks and extreme weather events.

"If there is one key lesson to be learned from recent events, it has been that there is a strong need for our communities to improve the preparation, protocols, and protection methods that we put in place to protect our loved ones," said Dennis Corrado, president of National Safety Shelters. "It's imperative that we learn from these devastating situations so that we can better protect ourselves when a worst-case scenario presents itself in the future. If current methods are not saving lives, then change is needed."

In 2020, National Safety Shelters' safety pods protected students and staff members in the Quitman School District in Quitman, Arkansas, after a tornado suddenly struck the region. In 2018, the district made the decision to install 55 safety pods in each classroom, plus additional safe rooms in the cafeteria, gym, band room, and library. This proved to be an excellent move, as students and staff successfully took refuge in the safety pods within 90 seconds. Thankfully, everyone was secured without incident.

National Safety Shelters' safety pods are rated as able to withstand the highest category (EF5) tornado. Each safety pod is constructed with American-made, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), ballistic Level IIIA steel. This material can resist bullets fired from most handguns and shotguns and is more than capable of providing robust protection against wind events.

Customers also have the ability to select NIJ Level III steel, which is virtually bulletproof and able to stop bullets from semi-automatic weapons such as AR-15s and AK-47 rifles. This kind of steel is used by the U.S. military for armored vehicles (MIL-DTL-46100) and serves as an excellent defense layer for businesses and schools that are concerned about the potential of violent attacks.

The design of the safety pods can be customized to satisfy any amount of square footage and any desired layout. Unlike other security measures, such as armed personnel, video surveillance systems, metal detectors, etc., the one-time investment comes with no operating or maintenance costs. The safety pods can be used to retrofit existing buildings or can be designed into new ones. Most importantly, each pod, regardless of layout or size, is designed to be immediately accessible to ensure user safety.

Please visit nationalsafetyshelters.com for more information on how National Safety Shelters' safety pods can protect your school or business.

About National Safety Shelters

National Safety Shelters provides state-of-the-art safety pods for protection from active shooters to natural disasters.

Contact Information

Dan Johnson 
[email protected] 

Source: National Safety Shelters