HSI Certified AVIRT Instructors
250+ Five-Star Google Reviews
3,000+ Students Trained
On-Site at Your Location
The Program
What AVIRT Is, and Why It's Different
AVIRT gives your people a decision framework they can use under stress, then teaches the life-saving medical response that follows.
AVIRT (Active Violence Incident Response Training) is HSI’s research-based program for civilian response to active threats. Where generic awareness sessions stop at a slideshow, AVIRT trains recognition, decision-making, and immediate casualty care as one program. Every session is delivered by HSI-certified instructors, blends online and in-person components, and leaves attendees with a certification valid for two years.
What Attendees learn
RECOGNIZE — reading the earliest indicators of an active threat
RESPOND — the escape, evade, and last-resort defend framework, applied to your actual facility
STOP THE BLEED — immediate bleeding-control and casualty care in the minutes before EMS arrives
RECOVER — accounting for people, communicating with responders, and what happens after
Who This Is For
Training Built for Your Environment
Every engagement is adapted to your facility, your people, and the realities of your sector.
Corporate & Private Sector
Preparedness training that supports your duty of care and gives employees a plan they can act on, not just a policy they signed.
Houses of Worship
Protecting an open, welcoming space without changing its character. Training for staff, ushers, and safety teams.
Healthcare Facilities
Response planning for environments where evacuation isn’t always possible and staff carry responsibility for patients.
Educational Institutions
Age-appropriate, trauma-informed preparedness for faculty and staff in schools and campus settings.
THE ENGAGEMENT
What Training With Us Looks Like
On-Site Delivery
We train at your location, using your actual spaces, exits, and floor plan. Your building becomes the classroom.
Virtual Options
Webinar and blended formats for distributed teams or awareness-level sessions.
Risk Assessments
A structured walk-through of your facility with practical, prioritized recommendations.
Certification
Attendees complete the HSI AVIRT program with certification valid for two years, with annual refresh options.
Why It Matters
Preparedness Is a Leadership Decision
Incidents unfold in minutes; emergency response takes longer to arrive. What your people do in that window is decided by whether anyone ever showed them what to do.
The Response Gap
The first minutes belong to the people on site. Training turns bystanders into first responders for their own colleagues.
Duty of Care
OSHA’s General Duty Clause expects employers to address recognized workplace hazards. A documented training program is part of a defensible safety posture.
Confidence, Not Fear
Good preparedness training lowers anxiety. People who have a plan carry the topic more lightly, not more heavily.
Certified Instructors, Local to Your Region
Certified Instructors, Local to Your Region
Joe Martini — Founder & Lead Instructor
Joe is an HSI Authorized AVIRT Active Shooter Instructor and the owner of Westchester Firearms Safety, where he’s trained more than 3,000 people over ~15 years. His classes are built for people with no background in this, and he’s known for making serious material approachable without watering it down.
Before WFS, Joe spent 30 years in information security program management and chief-of-staff roles at a global financial firm. That work was about the same thing this training is about: preparing an organization for something you hope never happens, and doing it in a way that people can actually follow under pressure. He’s comfortable in a boardroom and a classroom, and he knows how to fit a program to a school, a congregation, or a workplace without disrupting it.
Joe holds Rangemaster and NRA instructor certifications and lives in Westchester County.
Certifications
- HSI Authorized AVIRT Active Shooter Instructor
- NRA Certified Chief Range Safety Officer
- NRA Certified Instructor (Handgun, CCW, Shotgun), since 2012
Steve Pinn — Co-Lead & Co-Instructor, Active-Threat Training
Steven is a certified HSI instructor with over 15 years of experience running workplace training programs.
A background spanning retail management and healthcare business operations means Steven has actually run the kind of workplace being trained — managing staff, schedules, safety protocols, and the day-to-day pressure of keeping a team accountable.
An avid shooter and student of tactics for over 10 years, Steven brings hands-on equipment, and tactical expertise to every session, sharpened by 7 years assisting with Westchester Firearms Safety Instruction.
Steven lives in West Harrison, where he spends time writing music and enjoying the outdoors.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Formats range from awareness-level sessions to the full blended AVIRT program. Most on-site engagements run a half day; we’ll scope the right format in your consultation.
Yes, on-site at your facility is our primary format. Training in your actual space, with your exits and layout, is what makes the response framework stick.
Yes. The program is preparedness-focused and designed to lower anxiety by replacing uncertainty with a plan. No simulations are sprung on attendees; everything is announced and consent-based.
No. This is civilian response and preparedness training. It covers recognition, response decision-making, and emergency medical care. No firearms are used or present.
AVIRT certification is valid for two years. Many organizations choose annual refreshers so new staff are covered and the response plan stays current.
Contact Us
Start With a Conversation
Tell us about your organization and facility. We'll recommend the right format and scope, no obligation.
Prefer the phone? Call (914) 401-0440 and talk to the instructor directly.
