BUTLER TWP — High school students knowing about what to do in an armed intruder situation at school is just as important, if not more important, than knowing the “stop, drop and roll” moniker in fire safety.

That’s what Conrad Pfeifer, a Middlesex Township police officer, told Butler High School students this morning during an active intruder assembly.

“It’s sad that you have to learn about active shooters, but that’s what our world has come to,” Pfeifer said.

Students were taught the latest intruder methodology, the ALICE response: Alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.

While a lockdown mode is good, Pfeifer said, it should be treated as a starting point in an emergency situation that involves an armed intruder.

Specifically, he discussed using a barricade and attempting to counter an individual.

Desks, trash cans, or any classroom materials should be pushed against the door to create a physical barrier, to prevent that shooter from getting through the door or getting into the classroom quickly.

“It does not only mean keeping the door barricaded, but barricading him,” Pfeifer said.

Countering, not fighting the intruder, is another important distinction in the ALICE method. If possible, trying to immobilize that person by throwing cans, paper weights, gym class balls, whatever is there that can be used as a deterrent, should be done.

The assembly is meant to provide safety options that go beyond what many students know.

“Something like this can happen at any time, and we have to be prepared,” said Jeff Schnur, principal.