NFPA affiliate receives FEMA grant to study impact of active shooter events

The Fire Protection Research Foundation received nearly $200K to conduct a two-year study into the impact of active shooters and hostile events on first responders

By News Staff

QUINCY, Mass. –– The Fire Protection Research Foundation (Research Foundation), the research affiliate of the NFPA, received a nearly $200K Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grant from FEMA to study the effects of active shooter and hostile events on the first responders who respond.

The Research Foundation project will begin in late-2019 with the support of the NFPA and the technical committee for NFPA 3000: Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Even Response (ASHER) Program.

In this Sept. 6, 2018, file photo, emergency personnel and police respond to reports of an active shooter situation near Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The goal of the study is to “establish a sustainable, quantified approach” to measuring the impact of active shooter tragedies by:

Establishing economic measures for first responder agencies
Quantifying short- and -long-term emotional impact
Justifying resources needed to prepare, train and equip first responders
Supporting the NFPA 3000 outlined approach

“This research project will have a significant long-term, positive impact on improving first responder safety, health and wellness, as well as civilian well-being,” Research Foundation Executive Director Casey Grant said. “With a rigorous estimation of costs, public safety leaders will be better equipped to advocate for the resources needed to implement best practices for planning, training and every recovery.”

Grant added, “Currently, the cost of these efforts is being undervalued because we lack quantification or informed motivation to invest in improved practices.”

Results of the study are expected to be available by September 2021.