Construction crews receive active-shooting training in wake of Downtown Fresno rampage

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Some workers at Four C's Construction saw last month's triple shooting in Downtown Fresno unfold.

But on Friday, they feel a little more secure after a realistic training session. The shots fired inside the company startled employees but this was only a safety training exercise.

Workers spent the day learning about what to do in case of an actual emergency.

"What we want to prevent is that freeze," said Paul Llanez, CEO of Knowledge Saves Lives. "We don't want to freeze anymore and turn into an earthquake drill."

In addition to knowing escape routes, employees were taught to arm themselves with improvised weapons. Last month's shooting of three people won't be forgotten by people who live or work downtown.

"We look at some of the things that have happened downtown and think that we have to keep people safe whether they're on the roof or in the office," company president Preston Cross said.

Officers with Los Banos-based Knowledge Saves Lives set up several scenarios for the employees and staff to react to.

"We just want to familiarize people with what their options are, what they're resources are," Llanez explained. "There can't be a cookie-cutter plan. It has to be site specific."

And you could be walking past a perfect weapon of defense every day at work, the fire extinguisher. Employees were taught to both spray attackers with the extinguisher, and the bottom of the metal tank can be used fight back.

"If they can teach how to not panic, and if they can obviously take it home, to their personal lives, basically about survival," Cross said.

Llanez says it's important all companies have some type of safety plan so workers have an idea of what to do in case of emergency.