A Guest Post From Steve Minshall, CSP, CIH
I'm not a big fan of the zombie craze that's currently gripping the country, but today it seemed that the dire predictions had come true. As I exited the Denver Convention Center, a dull movement caught my eye. My eyes set upon a muted tan, human-like shape, standing stock still being tended by another moving, human-like form, also in drab tan. Could it be that even here, in downtown Denver among a host of safety professionals, zombies had invaded? I approached warily, heart rate increasing, ready to deploy my hard-earned self-defense skills, when suddenly . . . I was offered a bottle of water.
OK, never mind that zombies tend to be colorful creatures, with mangled limbs and blood dripping everywhere (they eschew colors that make them blend in). Never mind that I may have let my imagination run a little wild, just for a moment.
Many of you may have had the same encounter, and a clever one at that. The stationary creature was a slightly larger than life cardboard cut-out of a person in tan-colored FR clothing; the moving human shape was a person, also dressed in tan garb, who was offering bottled water to passersby. On another corner, I saw several similarly clad people minding the cardboard cut-outs and handing out water. It was a bit of a strange, yet intriguing, sight.
As I accepted the proffered water, the person-in-tan confirmed that I was truly attending Safety 2012. I'm sure he was amazed by my grasp of the situation when I said, "Ah, FR clothing," then he invited me to visit the Bulwark display at booth 285 for a chance to win a new iPad.
Another zombie scare averted, I suppose. But the tactic certainly got my attention, and I do believe I will stop by their booth.