Today we’d like to introduce you to Brink Fidler.
Hi Brink, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My background is in law enforcement here in middle Tennessee where I served 18 years with the Metro Nashville Police Department as well as the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force where I retired as the director.
My journey down this road began several years ago when I was asked by the Director of Education at my children’s special needs preschool to conduct some security training for their staff at in-service shortly after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. Of course, I agreed and began to dive into the world of school security, active shooter events, and best practices for mitigation. I conducted their training then and began to investigate the incidents much further as I was asked to return several times. I was no expert on school security or safety but having spent most of my career in narcotics work, I was an expert in defeating every imaginable security feature or device as it was our job to constantly break into places we were not wanted, both forcefully and surreptitiously.
As one can imagine, this type of background provided me with a very unique insight into what real physical security looks like and, more importantly, how to achieve it. Furthermore, considering what we did when we conducted warrants or raids as civilians call them, I have played the role of the “active shooter” hundreds of times. If you really consider what tactical/narcotics officers do, they are breaking in somewhere they are not wanted, trying to get their hands on someone that does not want them there, and trying to cover much ground as quickly as possible with a very offensive weapon. Case in point, the active shooter. This is an even more critical piece because I learned very quickly what caused problems for me/us once we were inside the building. Having planned and conducted over a thousand high-risk tactical operations, I have encountered several problems.
Based on all of this as well as the in-depth study of active shooter and mass casualty events, I launched Defend Systems in 2017 with a focus on training personnel on exactly what to do during an active shooter event and how to increase survivability. We have developed our own curriculum and cater our training to each unique facility, floor plan, building, faculty and/or staff composition, etc. We have trained schools, corporations, non-profits, healthcare facilities, pre-schools, technology companies, assisted-living facilities, houses of worship, manufacturing facilities, and community centers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The largest obstacle to business growth has been getting the word out. We feel like w have a service that every organization needs but they do not know we exist. Word of mouth is what typically drives the business and is picking back up now that we seemed to have crested the peak of the pandemic.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Defend Systems?
We are a life safety and security consulting firm specializing in physical security consulting and active shooter mitigation training for schools, corporations, nonprofits, healthcare facilities, etc. Our training is specific to the particular facility and employee composition and provides easy, actionable steps, that will save lives if our clients are faced with an intruder or active violence event.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I love the outdoors and spent most of my childhood romping through the woods or a creek somewhere. I was pretty quiet and reserved as a kid so it is rather ironic that I do public speaking for a living now.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.defendsystems.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/defendsystems
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/defendsystems
