TORRANCE, Calif. – Keenan, an industry-leading California insurance brokerage and consulting firm for health care organizations and public agencies, recently conducted two comprehensive active killer training courses in Southern California. The sessions, continuing a series of such trainings for hundreds of public entities and law enforcement groups, were hosted by the City of Industry and Long Beach Community College. Attendees from 18 public agencies and school districts in the local area also participated in these most recent training programs.
These focused sessions provided vital information on this timely issue as part of the Keenan IMReady (Incident Management Ready) resources. Topics covered included facts about school shootings, understanding how to reduce the likelihood of these situations, effective and ineffective strategies and tactics, and actions to take.
“Our communities, unfortunately, are now facing these terrible kinds of events on a regular basis. And there is widespread debate on how to address them,” said Eric Preston, Vice President of Loss Control Services. “At Keenan, our goal is to enable officials, managers and employees to be as well prepared as possible to help protect themselves and their constituents.”
Public employees learned what to expect and how to prepare for an active shooter/killer emergency with techniques such as:
- Run, hide, fight
- Breathing to stay calm
- OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act)
- 21-foot rule
- Concealment vs. cover
- Improvised weapons
The sessions were conducted by Dean Waddell, Senior Consultant, Loss Control for Keenan. Waddell is a retired officer from the Lubbock, Texas, police department and has trained some 8,000 people on violent incident preparation. As just one example of the potential effectiveness of the training, he presented a session at a California city before the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas; an attendee of that training attributed her survival to the preparation she had received.
The Keenan IMReady effort is a comprehensive emergency preparedness program designed to prepare any entity or organization for a disaster or mass casualty event occurring at its facility, including active shooter/active killer scenarios. Each IMReady program is tailored specifically to the participating organization and worksite based on an expert assessment.
Developed in response to current worldwide threats related to terrorism and other acts of violence, IMReady provides training in emergency response, continuity of operations and recovery capabilities following a disaster/mass-casualty event.
Additional information about IMReady is available through IMReady@maintenance.assuredpartners.com/keenan.
For information on Keenan insurance brokerage and consulting programs, visit maintenance.assuredpartners.com/keenan.
About Keenan
Keenan has a 45-year track record of serving California schools, community colleges, health care organizations and public agencies. Keenan recently joined the AssuredPartners group of independent brokers, currently ranked as the 13th largest U.S. brokerage. Keenan serves as AP’s California hub to expand its innovative employee benefits, health benefit management services, workers’ compensation, risk management, and property and liability programs throughout the country. Keenan has a staff of more than 725 insurance specialists with local offices in Torrance, Riverside, San Clemente, Oakland, San Jose, Rancho Cordova, Redwood City, Pleasanton and Eureka. For more information, call 800-654-8102 or 310-212-3344, email info@maintenance.assuredpartners.com/keenan or visit maintenance.assuredpartners.com/keenan.