400 people were part of emergency response drill Tuesday at Albion school
‘We are much better today thanks to this exercise and the hard work of many involved with it.’ – Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni
Provided photos: Law enforcement officers and firefighters check the hallways and classrooms during a drill Tuesday at the Albion Middle School.
Press Release, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni
ALBION – The Albion Police Department conducted a full-scale exercise at the Albion Middle School on Tueday, beginning at 9 a.m. The exercise was conducted to evaluate the preparedness, response, and tactical and decision-making abilities of law enforcement, fire and EMS responders. The exercise was designed to simulate high-stress conditions and to incorporate as much realism as possible.
A committee of top-level responders and commanders was formed to organize the drill. The U.S. Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) was utilized in the drill planning. Through the use of HSEEP, exercise program managers were able to develop, execute, and evaluate the exercise that addressed the priorities established by the committee.
Objectives were established to evaluate the response and mitigation to an active shooter at the Albion Middle School by law enforcement, Fire/EMS, command, dispatch and school staff. Several exercise controllers and evaluators were utilized to record the exercise and evaluate the response.
The controllers and evaluators used were from agencies inside and outside of Orleans County with advanced specialties in the areas they were assigned to evaluate.
The responders and school staff role players were given no previous direction or instruction to make the exercise as real as possible. In an effort to simulate realism, police, fire and EMS units were staged and were not allowed to respond to the school until they were dispatched and then held until the appropriate times had passed to simulate actual real times.
The exercise began when role players, acting as suspicious persons, were observed inside the school causing school staff to alert the 911 center which initiated a police response. As law enforcement arrived on scene, gunfire occurred inside the school prompting a full multi agency law enforcement response. (Editor’s Note: The gunfire was actually firecrackers.)
Command was established and additional police, fire and EMS resources were called to the scene to deal with multiple suspects and 18 injured persons with high and low levels of injuries.
The exercise plan called for over 24 objectives to be evaluated using the HSEEP Exercise Evaluation Guide. These evaluations along with the Feedback Forms completed by over 400 exercise participants ranging from commanders, responders, role players, controllers, facilitators and evaluators will be compiled and an Exercise After Action Report will be produced.
The After Action Report will help responders build on the skills they tested during this exercise to make an effective and efficient response even better in the future.
No matter how good we do during an exercise, there is always a need to evaluate and perform at a higher level, regardless of what discipline you are in during an incident of this magnitude. We are much better today thanks to this exercise and the hard work of many involved with it.
This exercise would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals from many agencies. Below is a list of agencies involved in the exercise as both responders and exercise support staff that assisted as controllers, facilitators, evaluators and technical advisers.
Responding Agencies:
Albion Police Department, Albion Fire Department, Barre Fire Department, Carlton Fire Department, COVA Ambulance, Fancher-Hulberton-Murray Fire Department, Hamlin Ambulance, Holley Fire Department, Holley Police Department, Kendall Fire Department Ambulance, Medina Police Department, Medina Fire Department, Mercy Flight Ambulance, Monroe Ambulance, Orleans County Emergency Management, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, Orleans County Probation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Police, US Customs and Border Protection, and Village of Albion DPW.
Exercise Support:
Albion Central School District, Albion Police, Batavia Police Department, COVA Ambulance, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Greece Volunteer Ambulance, Medina Police, Medina Fire Department, Orleans County Emergency Management, Orleans County Major Felony Crimes Task Force, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, US Customs and Border Protection
The Albion Police Department would like to thank all the agencies involved, as this exercise would not have been possible without the support and assistance from everyone. A special thank you to Albion School District Superintendent Michael Bonnewell, Board of Education and the school staff for allowing such a beneficial exercise to take place.
