“If running is not a safe option, hide”

The FEMA guidelines address your next best option if evacuation is not possible. “If running is not a safe option, hide in as safe a place as possible…. Barricade the doors with heavy furniture.” (pg. 65).  Barricading is a highly effective (and easily implemented) tool that enhances and improves traditional lockdown.  Creating a barricade of furniture against the locked door gives an additional layer of protection from the intruder and assists you in delaying, deterring, and defending yourself and your students. Once barricaded, FEMA advises to “hide along the wall closest to the exit but out of the view from the hallway (allowing for an ambush of the shooter and for possible escape if the shooter enters the room.)” (pg. 65).