(From: The Shooting Wire) July 25, 2014

This update comes to us from the Buckeye Firearms Foundation and has the latest on that group's campaign to protect students, teachers and faculty members in Ohio schools.

COLUMBUS, OH - Last week, Buckeye Firearms Foundation held its thirteenth F.A.S.T.E.R. (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response) class in Ohio.

Created by Buckeye Firearms Foundation in partnership with Tactical Defense Institute, the class is designed specifically for school staff to enable them to quickly, safely, and appropriately respond to an active killer in a school setting and offer immediate life-saving medical treatment to victims.

With roughly 24 per class, over 300 teachers, administrators, and staff have now completed the training. In addition to Ohio, educators from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Colorado have attended.

Foundation President Jim Irvine said, "One of the most frequent comments from attendees is 'I'm a different person.' They're different because they have a new awareness of active killer events and how they are successfully stopped. Different because they now understand why current policies don't work, and are committed to making needed changes for the safety of their students."

The idea of armed staff in schools is not new. Schools in Idaho, Texas, and Alabama have been doing it successfully for a decade. Irvine continued, "None of the terrible 'What if' scenarios have ever happened. Instead, what these states have seen are safer schools where children learn and play, and would-be killers know they need to pick a different location."

Buckeye Firearms Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization. In the wake of the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, the Foundation announced in 2013 that it would pay for tuition, ammunition, and lodging for a class of 24 Ohio teachers, administrators, and other school staff to attend an intensive, 3-day class on how to limit the deaths from a school shooting.

After the success of the original class, more than 1,700 educators from counties across Ohio have applied for the training, which has now expanded to 3 separate locations in the state in order to accommodate more more people.

"On average, there are 2-3 casualties when a killer is stopped by someone on scene," said Irvine. "The death toll rises to 12-16 when they are stopped by a responding law enforcement officer. Police desperately want to solve this problem, but if they are not already inside the building when the shooting starts, they simply can't get there in time. Experts agree that the best way to lower the body count is to have someone inside every building with the tools, skill, and mindset to stop the killer quickly."

To learn more about the Buckeye Firearms Association's F.A.S.T.E.R. program, contact Jim Irvine at jirvine@buckeyefirearms.org