[slideshow_deploy id=’125860′]
By Erin Smith
A Crisis Response Training Exercise conducted at the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy in Elizabethtown was rated a success by coordinators on Friday afternoon. The school was a hub activity as the training scenario was conducted.
Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Gary Turlington, who oversees training for the Sheriff’s Office, said Friday’s exercise is unique in that it is the first such exercise in this region to utilize an integrated response where firefighters, EMS and law enforcement are all taking part in the training session together. The scenario was designed to create a situation all of the agencies could potentially face should such an event take place in real life.
The exercise scenario depicted an active shooter in the school with casualties. Sgt. Turlington explained that the goal of the exercise is to allow law enforcement to practice mitigating the threat, practice evacuating the students from the school building, and then practice escorting firefighters and EMS personnel into the facility as quickly as possible to treat the wounded.
“Once the threat is mitigated get them (the students) out,” were Sgt. Turlington’s instructions before everyone took their places for the exercise.
Sgt. Turlington siad there are three times of day when these types of events happen. They are in the morning as school is beginning, during the lunch period and as school is being dismissed.
As the training exercise began, booming noises and screams could be heard inside school. Shortly after that, a lockdown and shelter in place order was issued over the school’s public address system. Students and teachers with Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy assisted in the exercise by pretending to be wounded and waiting in locked classrooms for law enforcement officers to evacuate them from the building.
“The student body was exceptional and the lockdown was successful,” said Sgt. Turlington.
He added there were some things which could be improved upon which is the purpose of the exercise.
“The most important thing is the safety of students,” said Sgt. Turlington.
Headmaster Roland McKoy said, “I feel good. The kids moved in a timely fashion.”
When asked how Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy became involved in the exercise, McKoy said Sgt. Kellum is very interested in survival skills and in teaching those skills to the students. McKoy said Sgt. Kellum began communicating with the Sheriff’s Office about doing just such an exercise.
Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker said, “I think it’s great we have all these allies. We’re all here for a common goal. We hope we never have to do this in real life.”
Taking part in the exercise were the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the Elizabethtown Police Department, Bladen County EMS, Bladen County Emergency Management, Tar Heel Rescue, White Lake Fire Department, Bladen County Advanced Life Support, Cape Fear Valley Lifelink helicopter, and Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare.
Click below for video footage of some of today’s training session.
About Author
