FORT CARSON, Colo. -- On a recent morning, the staff at Balfour Beatty Communities was confronted by a gunman, an irate client who resorted to violence when his needs weren't met.
It was only a drill, but the staff at BBC was taken by surprise.
"Now I'm thinking about what I would really do in a situation like that, which is good," said Amanda Richmond, neighborhood manager at BBC.
The mock scenario was part of training provided by Fort Carson police. The Facility Active Shooter Awareness program -- which has been provided to Army Community Service, Soldier Readiness Processing, the hospital, the Exchange and other locations on post -- educates civilians on what to do if an active shooter situation happened.
More than 25 agencies and 800 civilians have been trained across the installation, said Lt. Col. Christopher Heberer, commander, 759th Military Police Battalion.
"It's to teach people signs to look for, what to do if it happens and then prepare them for what it's going to look like when we get there," said Heather DeLaurentis, Fort Carson police officer. "It's going to be very loud. It's going to be very fast-paced."
The speed and chaos of the situation caught the staff at BBC off guard, some of whom said they didn't react because they recognized the shooting of an air gun rather than a real gun.
"If it sounds like a gunshot, it really is. When is the last time someone that works with you or someone who came into your facility threw a bunch of firecrackers on the floor just to see the reaction? If you hear the pop, pop, pop, it's a gun shot," said Bill Vinelli, Department of the Army training sergeant, and one of the developers of the training program.
The first half of the program is a classroom-based Power Point presentation.
"We explain to them what to do, talk about getting an emergency evacuation plan together, give them things to prepare," DeLaurentis said. "Then we come back when they're ready. We look at their emergency plan, and we see … (if) we can add to it or give more advice about it."
After the classroom training, a mock scenario can be held. In one drill at a clinic, an employee actually disarmed the "shooter," Vinelli said. Not every organization chooses to have a drill, though.
It's training the police are more than happy to provide, as often as requested.
"In 50 years, there's been zero kids killed in schools from fire, but there's kids every year killed from violence and active shooters," Vinelli said. "How often do you do a fire drill? Once a month? Then roll it in."
"It's not a matter of if," he said. "It's when it's going to happen. … As long as you're surviving, and you go home that night, whenever you can go home, it's a success."
Social Sharing