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Officers respond during a simulated critical incident at Lunenburg Middle-High School while a coach assesses their performance. (Photo courtesy of Lunenburg Police Department) -
An instructor instructs first responders entering the scene of a simulated critical incident to ensure they follow proper procedures. (Photo courtesy of Lunenburg Police Department) -
First responders work together during an incident in a classroom at Lunenburg Middle-High School. (Photo courtesy of Lunenburg Police Department) -
An officer examines a role-playing victim. (Photo courtesy of Lunenburg Police Department)
LUNENBURG – Police Chief Thomas Gammel says Lunenburg Police, along with members of the Lunenburg Fire Department, participated in a school shooting training this week.
The two-day course, which also included members of the Fitchburg and Groton police departments, provided advanced training and real-world scenarios to ensure first responders are prepared in the event of a mass casualty incident.
The Active Attack Integrated Response Course (AAIR), developed by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT), is designed to improve integration between police, fire, telecommunications and emergency services during active attack/shooting incidents.
Participants received general training on incident response, including communication, situational awareness, and assessment and treatment of potentially injured persons.
Emergency responders were then faced with increasingly complex real-time scenarios involving an active attacker at Lunenburg Middle-High School. Officers had to neutralize the threat, triage the injured after triaging them, and secure the building so EMS could enter. Emergency responders worked with officers to treat the victims and transport them to a waiting ambulance for further care.
The trainers provided valuable feedback in real time and reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the response after each scenario.
“This training is invaluable. Although these were active attack scenarios, these skills and protocols will make us more effective in a variety of incident responses,” said Chief Gammel. “Our first responders can only get better as a result.”
Chief Gammel would like to recognize John Mazza of the Municipal Police Training Committee and Scott Cluet of the State Department of Fire Services, who are statewide leaders of the Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) program and organizers of the training. He would also like to thank the training staff for sharing their expertise with the participants.
Chief Gammel would also like to thank the Lunenburg Public Schools for donating the building, as well as the city and school staff and community members who served as role players during the scenarios.
