Emergency Personnel Train For Active Shooter Scenario
Oskaloosa Police officer Ben Johnson is seen here on Thursday at active shooter training hosted by the Mahaska County Emergency Management.
Clearing the threat and tending to the injured in a quick and secure way was the focus of a three-day long training course for first responders.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Shots rang out in the Oskaloosa Middle School on Thursday, as police, fire, and EMS along with emergency management got together in training to learn how to work together in a time of unthinkable crisis.
Mahaska County Emergency Manager expressed his pleasure with the 3-day long class, “It’s given the guys an opportunity to work together. When people think of active shooter training, they always think of law enforcement. We still have to have people go in there for the injured. In a school or business type of shooting event, it’s going to be a secure location for some time, and until law enforcement can process it”.
The training involved the use of stress-inducing scenarios, that included simunition. The added sting of being hit by a round also increases the realism and induces extra stress which is helpful in training. “With this simunition, you’re getting shot at; it gets your attention. It makes you want to be quicker and faster to neutralise that target as soon as you can so you don’t take one of those shots to the chest or arm”.
After the shooting death of officers in Dallas, Robinson said that adding additional tools to use in protecting civilians and officers “so we’re able to respond to incidents like this”.
Allen Ford, from the Government Training Institute, was one of the instructors during the 3 day course. He and his company focus primarily on military and law enforcement classes, like this week’s Immediate Action Team that is for the active shooter. “This particular class is a post-active shooter”.
Ford said that after the Columbine shooting, “the paradigm for law enforcement response changed for the active shooter. We looked at the situation, said we can no longer have patrol officers respond, wait on the perimeter for a tactical team, like a swat team to arrive. We have to go in and stop the killing”.
“Once we stop the killing in an active shooter situation, we now need to bring in lifesaving assets. It’s another paradigm shift, and fire, EMS, they’ve never really gone into tactical situations”.
This helps to train all departments to work better together in a stressful situation, better under the unified command system after the killing has stopped to render life saving aid. “For a lot of these classes, it’s the first time that the law enforcement, fire and EMS side of the house actually work together in training. At first, they’re not really sure and feel each other out. Of course there is some good humor bantered between the fire and law enforcement side of the house. By the end of the class they really come together”.
Robinson said Oskaloosa Community Schools was a huge help to making the class happen for local first responders.
Ford added that in today’s environment, “These law enforcement, fire, and EMS guys, we’re asking them to do a very dangerous job. Go in and stop somebody who’s shooting people with one or two officers”.
