Sadly, it often takes a tragic event for emergency protocols to be established. In the wake of the Las Vegas and Ariana Grande shootings, as TDs, we should be keenly aware of the inherent dangers that exist for terror incidents at live venues. Even more so, because Christians are often a targeted and persecuted demographic, establishing an Emergency Operations Plan is vital.
Do you know what to do if an active shooter enters the worship center? What protocols do you have in place? How long would it take you to react? Do your volunteers know the protocol?
Even though any plan must be the result of a dialogue between you, your church’s head of security, and the pastoral leadership, there is a critical role you can play in order to assist the security team and help to save lives. I suggest scheduling a meeting and forwarding this article to your security team as a starting point for the conversation. Below are a few tangible ways we as TDs in the tech booth can be prepared for the unimaginable happening at our churches:
- Stay Calm. Be a Leader: The best thing we can do is stay calm and be prepared to lead. As church leaders, our tech volunteers and congregation will be looking to us for direction, even though we are probably not formally trained emergency/safety personnel. Know your protocols and think of their safety first. Be prepared to confidently give clear and concise direction, and be able to take direction yourself from the security team in charge.
- The God Mic: Have two microphones available that can become public service announcement mics that anyone could walk up to in order to make an emergency announcement: one mic on-stage (i.e. worship leader’s) and one mic at FOH. Consider making the on-stage mic always on so that if something were to happen at FOH, it is still usable. The FOH mic should not be more than one button push away from being live in the house. Be sure not to tie these mics into your main outs, because during an emergency, you need to be able to cut all music and sound instantly, with the exception of the emergency notification mics.
- House Lights and Emergency Exits: Be able to turn on all house lights to full and illuminate the exits with one fader or button override. Mark it well. During an emergency situation, more injuries often happen from people being trampled than the event itself. The first responders and security team can more easily assist when able to see the entirety of the situation. Likewise, in order to stay calm themselves, people in panic-mode need to be able to find those who are able to help.
- Warning Message on Projection Screens: Consider having a permanent slide that is available on your switcher or presentation software that includes emergency notifications like “Active Shooter: Run, Hide, Fight,” “Fire: Proceed to Safest Exit,” “Earthquake: Take Cover,” “Bomb Threat: Exit with Caution,” or other natural disasters that are a possibility at your location. Consider being able to send these slides simultaneously to all digital signage across the campus.
- Keep Recording: Video is essential to putting the pieces together later. Even though you may have security cameras throughout the church, they often only capture the entrances and an overview of areas of congregating. If the incident enters into the sanctuary, keep the cameras on, zoom out, point them at the source, and proceed to safety. The video the cameras record may become an important piece of the investigation in the aftermath.
- Livestream an Emergency Notification: Consider sending an “Emergency: Call 911” notification down the live stream. During the initial panic inside the sanctuary, picking up the phone and dialing 911 may be difficult, but your viewers at home can send the appropriate help for you. If your live stream is also your only physical recording (i.e. you do not individually capture and store each individual camera, and only save a program record feed), be sure to make the warning a lower-third and not a full screen slide.
- Master Paging System: Consider being able to use your comm system as a way of relaying information to other areas. As well, consider being able to connect it to a master paging system in order to make a campus-wide announcement from any location.
- Clear Fog/Haze Quickly: We have all had the miscellaneous person tell us they think something in our AV system may be over heating, when it really is just the hazer. In an emergency situation like a fire, knowing where the real smoke is coming from is essential to evacuating safely. Be able to clear your room of the fog/haze quickly. Make sure that you know how the HVAC register and return affects your hazer and how long it will take to clear any certain amount of haze from the room.
- First Aid Kit: The tech booth will become a natural place of refuge for those running for cover. Be able to assist any wounded who have sought cover with you, especially in a situation where you may be trapped for an extended period of time. Most occupancy codes require some sort of first aid kit in the building, however have one for your tech booth alone. Be sure it is always fully stocked, and not used up from every scratch you get during the week.
- ABC-Rated Fire Extinguisher: A dusty, unkept tech booth or server room is a prime candidate for an electrical fire to start. Have an ABC-rated fire extinguisher at the booth in order to put out electrical, gasoline, and wood/textile fires.
- Know the “Secret Service”: Many churches place secret “plants” in the worship service who may be carrying fire arms for security purposes, but because we TDs have the ability to make broad emergency steps quickly, we need to know who the point of contact is for each service. For many churches, these are often off-duty police officers or former military who volunteer for one service at time. Make sure the head of security for each service stops by the booth before the service so that you are aware of who will be in charge of the scene if an emergency situation were to arise.
- Train, Train, Train: Whatever plan you come up with should be able to be performed quickly, easily, and be known by all volunteers and staff working their stations. It should be part of both their initial and continuing training. Consider practicing emergency protocols during rehearsal at least once a month. The more you practice, the more you will be prepared should the actual event occur.
This list is just a starting point for establishing your personalized tech booth’s EOP (emergency operations plan). Talk to your security team and pastoral leadership, show them what you are able do with the equipment in the tech booth, discuss the current protocols you have in place, and establish a firm plan for what they would like you to do in the case of an emergency.
In the end, the most important thing we can do beyond establishing these action items is pray. We need to pray for revival. We need to pray for an outpouring of Jesus on the world. We need to pray for the love of Jesus to reach those who are hurting and lost. As Paul asserts: “Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should” (Colossians 4:2-3). And Proverbs confirms: “A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory comes from the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). We do not want to have to prepare these emergency protocols, but unfortunately on this side of eternity, we will be battling the effects of sin until Christ returns.
Do you have other procedures in place already? I encourage you to share in the comments below.
