MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Northern Michigan Public Service Academy hosted a special training session Wednesday for municipal employees and others from non-profit organizations to help people prepare for an emergency situation.
AVERT, or Active Violence Emergency Response Training, is nationally certified and accredited by the Health and Safety Institute.
Traveling across the United States, Michael Munyon is an expert teaching people to be immediate responders in the event of hostile situations, including active shooter and personal medical situations.
Munyon says these skills are like a superpower and he added, “So they can go ahead and do the lifesaving skills they need to do prior to first responders arriving to the scene.
Unlike the older shooter programs of the past, AVERT’s in depth course, teaches first active shooter response training that implements, both the medical and tactical side. Learning how to defend a room, disarm an individual, how to barricade, and lifesaving skills with bleeding management amongst others. While demonstrating how to properly work with tourniquet, he explained, “Under regular circumstances, you can go ahead and stop bleeding within 3 min. But when your heart is racing and things are happening and excitement’s going on and you’re injured, you can bleed out in 30 seconds.”
These saving skills along with how to handle situations in small or mass populations Munyon believes should be a standard for everyone and he said, “So this is something I think everyone should learn, ages 13 and up, I think is perfect for people to learn the AVERT program.”
Upon completion, students receive their 2-year certification and Munyon says they are ready for almost any situation that presents itself, whether it be to save their own life or the life of another.
For anyone interested in future training opportunities with NMPSA, please visit the website here.
To find out more about AVERT, please go here.
