Mock school shooting tests skills of police, EMS
NEW BERLIN – Unadilla Valley Central School hosted the county’s first Active Shooter Drill Friday, during which law enforcement agencies, EMS and UV administration participated in a mock school shooting scenario.
The purpose of the drill was to identify strengths and weaknesses in each group during a “doomsday” scenario at the school.
“We wanted to see how everyone would react to the situation ... response times, communication,” said Jason Grey, a firefighter in Norwich and a member of the school’s Safety Committee for two years. “We wanted to see how well everyone would work together for the safety of the kids.”
Teachers and students volunteered to participate in the drill, most with no clue what to expect, and 12 “wounded” students and teachers spread around the high school wing of the school.
“We kept it contained in order to keep a focus on response time instead of having to search the entire school,” said Lew Ford, a representative of DCMO BOCES.
Four law enforcement agencies participated in the drill: The New York State Troopers, Chenango County Sheriffs, Norwich City Police and New Berlin Village Police.
Norwich Fire Department, Pittsfield, South New Berlin, New Berlin Ambulance Service and Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corp. took “wounded” students and teachers to a bus that transported them to CMH and Bassett in order to simulate the “real-thing” without tying up ambulances.
The drill began at 1:05 with a 911 call by the administration to report “shots fired.”
All local law enforcement were aware of the drill, however, participating agencies were not aware of what to expect in order to better simulate the stress and tense atmosphere that would occur normally.
“It felt very real,” said Sgt. Ellingsen of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Dept. “We wanted to see how response units would treat the situation: how they moved through the halls and if they communicated well with each other using hand signals and over the radio to the main office ... overall I was very happy with how it turned out. There’s always room for improvement, but there’s nothing more important than protecting children.”
The purpose of the drill was to identify strengths and weaknesses in each group during a “doomsday” scenario at the school.
“We wanted to see how everyone would react to the situation ... response times, communication,” said Jason Grey, a firefighter in Norwich and a member of the school’s Safety Committee for two years. “We wanted to see how well everyone would work together for the safety of the kids.”
Teachers and students volunteered to participate in the drill, most with no clue what to expect, and 12 “wounded” students and teachers spread around the high school wing of the school.
“We kept it contained in order to keep a focus on response time instead of having to search the entire school,” said Lew Ford, a representative of DCMO BOCES.
Four law enforcement agencies participated in the drill: The New York State Troopers, Chenango County Sheriffs, Norwich City Police and New Berlin Village Police.
Norwich Fire Department, Pittsfield, South New Berlin, New Berlin Ambulance Service and Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corp. took “wounded” students and teachers to a bus that transported them to CMH and Bassett in order to simulate the “real-thing” without tying up ambulances.
The drill began at 1:05 with a 911 call by the administration to report “shots fired.”
All local law enforcement were aware of the drill, however, participating agencies were not aware of what to expect in order to better simulate the stress and tense atmosphere that would occur normally.
“It felt very real,” said Sgt. Ellingsen of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Dept. “We wanted to see how response units would treat the situation: how they moved through the halls and if they communicated well with each other using hand signals and over the radio to the main office ... overall I was very happy with how it turned out. There’s always room for improvement, but there’s nothing more important than protecting children.”
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