The Metropolitan Museum of Art to Host Training to Increase Awareness and Prepare for Potential Active Threats

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY is hosting an emergency response training course on December 20, 2023. This course, Surviving an Active Threat: Run. Hide. Fight. (PER-375), addresses the Run. Hide. Fight. response paradigm and guides non-traditional first responders in the various ways these methods can be employed. Participants learn to apply principles from this course to plans and procedures in their workplaces. These scenarios include: realistic sounding gunfire, the use of prop weapons and other high impact scenarios in response to simulated attacks. The DHS/ FEMA course is designed to help train citizens and community volunteers, education personnel, emergency management personnel, governmental administrative personnel, and healthcare professionals.

Christopher Howell, Security Manager in charge of Training, Licensing & Strategic Planning Security said the Museum decided to host the class because active threats are a real issue for large tourist attractions in large U.S. cities.

“Active Threats are a concern of ours being we are the largest Museum in the country,” Howell said. “We are a major tourist attraction welcoming several million visitors a year. Preparing to mitigate the risk and empower our staff to react under stressful conditions is an important reason why we wanted LSU to bring this vital training to us.”

LSU’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education has the ability to bring the Run. Hide. Fight. classes and similar training to locations at no cost, which provides a valuable service to communities. The Museum hosted the first Run, Hide, and Fight training back in March of 2023, and reaction was very positive.

“My colleagues and staff who attended enjoyed both the excellent lecture content, and the practical exercises conducted during the training,” Howell added.  “We have taken many courses and trainings with LSU NCBRT and find their material to be an excellent resource for those in the Security field. LSU staff are very supportive and dedicated to the work they do.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, along with numerous other agencies, recognizes that in today’s environment potential active threats are more common and no longer considered a remote possibility. Howell explained that the Museum strives to be the global leader in museum security and protective services. He said the training program is always seeking new resources, professional development, and partnerships with agencies that can help support that mission.

“Active Threats are a reality, and one that cannot be ignored,”   Howell said. “As a Security Department, we have a duty to protect life and property and must be able to prepare for these events. Having training such as the Run, Hide, and Fight offered by LSU, gives us another resource for our staff to use in the event of an Active Threat.”

The Run. Hide. Fight. course is DHS/FEMA certified and is designed to cover the basic principles of the response paradigm as it pertains to response in the event of an active threat incident. More information on this course can be found at https://ncbrt.lsu.edu/courses/dhs/per-375.php.

About LSU NCBRT/ACE:

LSU NCBRT/ACE is a nationally recognized center for emergency preparedness and response training located at Louisiana State University’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We provide mobile training to both the national and international emergency response community. LSU NCBRT/ACE has expertise in research, development and delivery of training in the areas of specialized law enforcement operations; biological incident response; food and agriculture safety and security; school safety; and instructional design and technique. For more information on LSU NCBRT/ACE’s courses and resources, please visit ncbrt.lsu.edu.