Crawfordsville HS Hosts Active Shooter Exercise to Prepare for the ‘Unthinkable’

By Joe LaRue
[email protected]

On Wednesday, in the Commons of Crawfordsville High School, fire alarms sounded and screams rang out as first responders practiced dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy that has become all too common across America: a school shooting.

The exercise, coordinated by Montgomery County Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EM/HS) and Blu4 Strategies, was designed to give first responders training in how to handle a mass casualty incident, like a school shooting. The goal of the exercise was to help create a plan for what to do after a shooter has been neutralized, including establishing both a communication plan and an incident command post, as well as creating a casualty collection point for up to 30 patients.

All of these goals were to be completed within pre-set timeframes and with the goal of maximizing efficiency and safety.

Directed by Shari Harrington, the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director, the Active Shooter Full Scale Exercise brought together close to 100 personnel from local agencies, including:

• Montgomery County Central Communications
• Crawfordsville Police Department
• Crawfordsville Fire and Rescue
• Montgomery County EM/HS
• SWAT
• StatFlight

Harrington emphasized that this exercise is critical for making sure that schools are safe and first responders are prepared, saying, “With the world that we live in today, I think that’s probably the biggest reason why we do this.”

She went on to say, “We love our community, we want to protect our community. Our schools are so invested in this type of training. We’re always talking about it, that’s why there were so many school corporations here today. All three school corporations were here, their principals, Dr. Moran was here, Dr. Bowling was here. We had everybody here that we could get here, and they were happy to come. They know that we need to practice this.”

“They know that we need to practice this. We need to be proactive and not reactive, and that’s why we did what we did today.”

The exercise began at 1 p.m., when fire alarms sounded and a police officer was dispatched to a participant identified as the shooter to confirm he was neutralized. After calling for back-up, teams of officers moved through the Commons, one first floor classroom and a selection of second floor classrooms.

These officers were split between those handling the removal of casualties and those clearing classrooms and open spaces of other potential shooters.

After a short time, the exercise began to move outside, as Fire and EMS personnel began to treat patients in a designated staging area. As they did, a StatFlight medivac helicopter landed next to the High School. The teams worked on assessing critical patients, securing them for helicopter travel and then removing them from the staging area.

Part of the exercise included the addition of what are called injects, or events and emergencies introduced on the spot without planning. These injects included simulating parents on scene attempting to enter the school and an injured officer needing to be extracted and treated.

These injects are designed to test the quick-response skills of the exercise participants, as well as simulate the unpredictable and chaotic nature of emergency events.

Throughout the exercise, controllers and evaluators moved through the high school and the external staging area. They were there to provide support and assistance to the first responders, answering questions and offering guidance where issues arose. The feedback from these observers forms the basis for correcting mistakes and establishing emergency response plans.

This type of exercise was derived from the US Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

The HSEEP was created in 2002 as part of an effort to help bring shareholders in communities together to develop common plans for responding to emergency situations. Harrington, who is a Master Exercise Practitioner, was critical in the process of bringing this exercise together.

Following the completion of the exercise, participants came together for what is called a “hotwash,” where strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures are discussed and necessary changes are covered and disbursed to the appropriate agencies or departments.

The full results of the exercise, including data and conclusions, is expected to be made publicly available within 2-3 weeks.