AST Digital Magazine August 2017 Digital-Aug | Page 73

Volume 15
August 2017 Edition
er event, it is possible, as these events are be-
coming more and more common place.
Sample of mobile wall panels. Image courtesy pinterest.com
Provide Ballistic Protection in the Form
of Furniture
We may not have enough time to pull walls to-
gether to create space, so with in mind, we need
to provide protection to people wherever they find
themselves.
Ballistic materials are currently on the market that
can be incorporated into furniture; counters, white
boards, walls, doors, etc. that offer protection to
occupants.
The use of ballistic resistant furniture could be
placed in, hospital waiting rooms, houses of wor-
ship, school classrooms, government offices, or
basically anywhere where large numbers of peo-
ple gather.
After last year’s Ft Lauderdale attack, some air-
port gate seating incorporates this technology.
The natural tendency for a person involved direct-
ly in an active shooter event is to “duck and hide”,
ballistic furniture may give them the few seconds
they need to survive.
The active shooter threat is not going
away.
Sample airport seating incorporating ballistic protective ma-
terials. Image courtesy of ARCONAS
Even if we start today, it will take time before we
change our mindset and find applicable solu-
tions that most emergency planners can agree
on and legislation catches up.
Until then, it’s up to us; i.e., administrators, ar-
chitects, designers, emergency managers, engi-
neers, facility managers, planners and security
professional to do what we can to make people
safe.
Unfortunately, there have been far too many ter-
rorist attacks around-the-world – shouldn’t we
have learned something from them?
About the Author:
Doug Haines is the owner and CEO of Haines
Security Solutions (HSS) in Ventura, California.
He’s widely respected and sought after for his
subject matter expertise in developing building
design strategies.
Whether lecturing in academia or at a security
industry forum, he’s an impassioned speaker
and likes sharing. He routinely contributes to
security publications world-wide.
While it is still very unlikely that you or the ones
you care about will be involved in an active shoot-
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