Have a plan

I am praying for the people of the LDS church in Grand Blanc, Michigan that was attacked on Sunday.

This hits pretty close to home, both geographically and personally. I am one of our church's "greeters". That is, I stand by the door and welcome people.

For some people, it might be the only "happy" human contact they receive all week. There is one 82 year-old widow who I hug every time she comes to church.

I know that my readers have a vast range of experiences. So I have a question for you:

If I am standing at the door and I see the door being approached by a madman carrying a firearm...do I hit the fire-alarm?

Reasons to do it:

• It will empty the building
• The loud, audible alarm is likely to unnerve the gunman. He might abort the mission.
• It will trigger 9-1-1 response and get EMS rolling toward the building
• Anybody who is "carrying" will be heads-up. I don't expect anybody would be carrying because Lansing Diocese prohibits the carrying of firearms on their property.

Reasons not to do it: 

• First responders are likely to be firefighters. They will be at-risk from the gunman
• Hitting the fire-alarm might be flushing the quail and making the gunman's job easier. 

Mitigating factors

• There will be a crowd of people fleeing the facility and might halt fire-response outside of the danger zone.
• Police sometimes respond to "fire alarms" to provide crowd control. If they are available, they would likely be among the first to arrive when a crowded building like a church is on-fire. 
• People will be calling 9-1-1 and adding detail to the unfolding crisis. 9-1-1 operator will tell the fire-crew that the site is NOT SECURE and they will stage about 200 yards away from the grounds. 

 Any thoughts?