Safety in Public Gathering Places: One Simple Survival Rule
The tragic mass-shooting in Orlando leaves many of us scared. On some level, it is hard to imagine the nightmare scenario happening in our home town. And yet, the examples are mounting — the Paris terror attack, the Charleston church shooting, Sandy Hook, and the Aurora movie theater attack are but a few. The Orlando shooting added another 49 names to the growing list of victims of violence. Is it no longer safe for us to leave our homes?
Being out in public this week felt uncomfortable. It was impossible to shake that nagging feeling — “could it happen here?” And yet, what can we do? Are we to live the rest of our lives in fear, avoiding the very public gatherings that celebrate our great culture of openness and acceptance? We know that avoiding crowds is not an option, because we will not let these terrorists and hate-mongers win. We will continue to go to the movie theaters. We will go grocery shopping. We will attend church services. Our children will go to school. But what can we do to make ourselves safer when out in public without succumbing to the fear that our enemies so desperately want to instill in us?
One simple survival rule that we should all follow is: Know your exits.
Whenever you enter an unknown space, the first thing you should do is to look for the exits. Is there an exit in every corner of the movie theater? Is there a second exit out of this doctor’s office? In the supermarket, is there an exit sign hanging over the door to the stock area in the rear? If so, that indicates a path to an exterior exit, and there should be another exit sign visible once you enter the stock area to guide you out of the building. Admittedly, knowing your exits will probably not save you if you are unlucky enough to be in close proximity when a shooter begins their rampage. But if you are not immediately in the shooters line of sight, knowing your exits and moving quickly could save your life.
The importance of knowing your exits — and the tragic consequences when people are not familiar with available egress options — has been demonstrated time and time again when fires occur in public places. In the Station Nightclub fire of 2003, 100 people died when fire was started by pyrotechnics set off during a musical performance. Of the 450 people in attendance, approximately 66 percent attempted to flee through the main doorway that they had entered through. This mass egress attempt created a “crowd-crush”, in which people pushing and shoving to get through the doorway tripped and fell. As the crowd continued to push to escape the choking smoke, they tried to climb over the fallen bodies, creating a mass pileup that trapped so many occupants.
Sadly, most occupants were unaware of the alternate exits available to them: only 46 patrons exited through the bar side exit, and a mere 20 left through the platform exit by the stage. With the front entrance doors blocked by the crowd-crush, many of those who survived only did so by breaking through the windows of the sun room and crawling out to safety.
The lesson to be learned from these tragic fires and shootings is that whenever we enter an enclosed space, we should always know how we can exit. Try to look for exits every time you enter a new space. At first it will be hard to remember, and you will forget sometimes. But eventually this practice will become a natural habit. Learn to do this yourself, and teach your families and friends to do the same. This is not giving in to fear, it is merely being aware of your surroundings. Always look for exits — they could save your life!
