Former Cambria officer leads safety training for organizations
Fatula founded consulting firm after career in law enforcement
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NANTY GLO -- While he was the director of safety and security at Saint Francis University, Bubba Fatula began teaching active shooter classes at nearby colleges and universities, laying the foundation for his future business.
A former police detective who worked as an undercover narcotics agent for over a decade, Fatula is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others, according to his family members and many who know him.
In April 2021, Fatula and his wife, Shannon, launched The Fatula Group, a consultant group hired by school districts, businesses, churches and sports teams to build safety and security policies, protocols and procedures.
The group also provides training services, such as active shooter, bomb threat, natural disaster and human sex trafficking.
Shannon Fatula, the group's CEO, said her husband is always on the run with the business, but they value a work-life balance that enables them to spend time together as a family outside of work.
"He's very passionate about what he does," she said, adding Fatula is devoted to his family and loves to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates. "Even if we're out doing something, the Pirates are on his phone."
Last year, she surprised him with a trip to Bradenton, Florida, to see the Pirates in spring training at Pirate City.
"That was on his bucket list of to-dos," she said. "We were able to do that and we caught some spring training down there together."
Fatula said the decision to leave his job and start his own business came with some trepidation.
"It's always scary when you run your own business," he said, noting The Fatula Group has a couple employees who are not family members and rely on the business to be successful.
With The Fatula Group, he has traveled throughout Pennsylvania to host training seminars and has been to other states, including Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.
In Blair County, the group serves as a consultant for the Altoona Curve, Penn-Mont Academy, Holy Trinity Catholic School, St. Patrick School in Newry and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. The group has held training sessions at the Blair County Community Action Program, the Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation, South Hills School of Business and Technology and Vitro Automotive Glass.
Last month, Fatula held active shooter training sessions at Cross Cut Church in Hastings and at the 2024 Pennsylvania Beauty Pro's Expo in Seven Springs.
Tracey Napotnik, founder of salontraining.com, which sponsors the expo, said she attended one of Fatula's training sessions years ago in Richland Township and decided to hire him for the event so beauty professionals can receive the training for their businesses.
Of the many speakers who presented at the exposition, attendees said Fatula was "one of the best speakers" they've ever heard, according to Napotnik.
"He has a real need and desire to help people through a crisis," she said.
'Wants to give back'
Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky attended Fatula's active shooter training at Cross Cut Church in Hastings. In a previous administration of the commissioners, Chernisky and B.J. Smith sponsored several of Fatula's training sessions throughout the county.
"He's an asset to the community," Chernisky said of Fatula. "I know he's active in the community and he wants to give back. He's a good person."
Chernisky noted Fatula has participated in the Chernisky Classic, an annual 5K and 10K run on the Ghost Town Trail. The proceeds from the event benefits the Cambria County Regional Firefighters Association's training facility every year, he said.
Chernisky has attended several of Fatula's seminars in which he simulates an active shooter scenario, using a prop gun to fire blanks that emulate gunshot sounds.
During a seminar at the Summerhill Borough Fire Department last year, Fatula encouraged people to retrain their brains to run, hide or fight when faced with an active shooter.
"I say it a lot, train your brain to tell your body because that's what we do as human beings," he said. "We train ourselves to do our daily activities."
As districts get better at securing schools with locked doors and other safety and security protocols, they're limiting the chances of "the bad guy" to enter the building, Fatula said, adding an active shooter is going to figure out a way to get students out of the school.
He said, years ago, evacuating the building was a normal response to a perceived bomb threat in school.
"You can't do that anymore," he said, adding the greater threat could be waiting for the students and staff with a gun outside.
Fatula said he teaches schools and businesses how to assess a situation by understanding where the bomb is located and who made the threat before moving people outside.
"We just can't leave the safety of our building that we built in these places and run outside where we have no more safety," he said.
He said human beings are creatures of habit and lack situational awareness in times of crisis.
"We get so used to an environment all of the time that we don't find it dangerous anymore, and that's what the shooter is waiting for. They're waiting for us not to be alarmed by the little things," he said.
Fatula said the thought process behind his seminars is to teach people the importance of understanding their surroundings, know where exits are located -- and if they can't run or hide from the shooter -- to know what they're going to fight with to disengage the shooter from their weapon.
If people plan those details within 10 to 15 seconds of sitting in a restaurant, they stand a greater chance of surviving if somebody pulls a gun than trying to come up with a plan as the gun is shot, Fatula said.
Fatula said he's not trying to make people paranoid but wants to help and educate them to be prepared, should they find themselves in an active shooter situation.
Law enforcement in the family
Fatula said his father, Bob Fatula, a former Jackson Township police chief, was the biggest inspiration behind his law enforcement career.
When he started as a police officer in Jackson Township, his father said he'd teach him everything he needed to know about being an officer, but after two years, he wanted him to move on to a higher-paying job.
"He never wanted any of us to make a career out of a small municipality. He knew the money wasn't there," Fatula said. "If we were going to be successful, any of us that worked there for him, we had to leave eventually."
He said his father had dementia and died shortly after The Fatula Group was established.
"He was very proud that I was traveling the area, teaching people the things I've learned in law enforcement and passing it on to the public," Fatula said.
Braedon Fatula, his son, said he plans to follow in his father's footsteps. For years, he portrayed the active shooter role in his father's seminars.
"Growing up, always seeing him come home in uniform, I knew that was what I wanted to do," he said. "That pushed me toward the police academy pretty much out of high school."
Once he gets enough experience in law enforcement, Braedon said he hopes to teach the active shooter seminars for his father.
"Every time I would get to help him I would hear his verbiage at every class. I think it's pretty much stuck in my head now," he said. "He's always been a great father and a great role model."
Fatula said his daughter, Tressa, is an artist who also helps in the family business.
"They've both done things throughout the years in the business," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.
The Fatula file
Name: Bubba Fatula
Age: 52
Family: Wife, Shannon; son, Braedon, 19; daughter, Tressa, 18; dog, Joe Biden Fatula, a German shepherd and pit bull mixed breed
Residence: Nanty Glo Borough
Education: Blacklick Valley School District, class of 1990; some college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1990 before joining the U.S. Navy from 1991-97
Career: Sheetz in Nanty Glo Borough, 1988-90; police detective for Jackson Township, 1993-95; police detective for Conemaugh Township, 1995-2006; police detective for Nanty Glo Borough, 2006-08; police chief and director of safety and security for Saint Francis University, 2008-18; Gittings Protective Security, 2018-19; owner and president of The Fatula Group, 2021-present
Quote: "For every decision that you make, there will either be a consequence or a reward. Choose wisely." -- Bob Fatula