First Baptist Church-Burnet teams with WCSO for active shooter seminar
FROM STAFF REPORTS
BURNET — In 2015, First Baptist Church of Burnet organized a Safety Team in an effort to address any concerns about the church’s safety, particularly in regard to active shooters or similar situations.
The FBC Safety Team, along with Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Brandon Schaefer, is holding an active shooter seminar from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, in the church sanctuary, 108 S. Vanderveer St.
The program is to help churches address critical situations that are unique to their facilities and campuses. The event is free, and though registration isn’t required, you can sign up at fbcburnet.org.
Officials said this is similar to the program Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody held Nov. 19, 2017, in Georgetown following the deadly shooting in Sutherland Springs, where a gunman entered a church in the rural community and killed 26 people during a worship service.
The March 3 program will be similar to that one and is designed to address active shooter events with recommended responses, suggestions of proactive options, and how to respond during an attack such as:
• emergency evacuation vs. lockdown;
• safer ways to shelter in place;
• when to run, hide, or fight;
• and alerting others.
The FBC Safety Team will present a program designed to cover topics such as:
• combating the “It can’t/won’t happened here” mentality;
• how to start a safety committee and team, including policies and procedures and finding the right people with the right backgrounds;
• what Senate Bill 2065 means for congregations and security (SB2065 exempts “a person from the requirement to be registered or licensed with the Private Security Program if providing volunteer security services on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship”);
• financial liability and insurance coverages;
• and medical gear/AEDs/radios and where to get them.
Schaefer will present the bulk of the seminar, but the FBC Safety Team can answer a lot of questions about how they formed a safety team and committee.
This seminar is designed to be helpful to all church staff, church leadership, and church members. The goal, organizers said, is to educate their fellow churches and, ultimately, make the entire community safer.
Attendees who pre-register will receive an informational packet.