Learning how to respond to attacks against schools by assailants armed with guns or knives was the aim of an intensive three-day training session for RCMP, school and Emergency Services staff about two weeks ago.
Held at Westerner Park and the former military base in Springbrook, participants included 30 RCMP officers, 20 Emergency Services staff and 10 representatives from Red Deer public and Catholic schools who practised both indoor and outdoor scenarios.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McBeth said in some scenarios actors playing civilians were injured or barricaded, and simulated weapons that shot paintballs were used by officers.
“You really get caught up in the moment of the scenario. You’ve got actors there. You’ve got casualties that are lying there. The situation becomes very realistic. It gets about as close as you can get without it being the real thing,” McBeth said.
He said immediate action rapid deployment (IARD) training teaches people how to respond to situations where mass casualties are possible at locations like schools, malls and arenas.
“Any time you get a situation where you could have organizations responding together, it’s important that we all train together.”
He said for police, it teaches officers how to respond regardless of the building they go into or what situation they will face.
“This is crucial training for RCMP. IARD is about putting police into various situations where they are required to take immediate action to draw engagement away from civilians. They are taught to respond fast and to deal with challenges like equipment malfunctions, visual barriers or surprise attackers, and every action is always moving toward the ideal outcome of no injuries,” McBeth said.
Chief Ken McMullen with Red Deer Emergency Services said threatening events may mostly be happening in other countries, but Canadians know they can and will occur here.
“If and when those types of events occur within the city of Red Deer, all of our services will be working together. It only makes sense that we plan and prepare and train in those scenarios as opposed to just go to those calls together and assume that we’ll know what each other’s roles are,” McMullen said.
He said one of his goals as the new chief of Emergency Services was to integrate training with the RCMP and welcomed the invitation by Red Deer RCMP to join the training.
“It’s one of those low-frequency, high-impact type scenarios where we certainly pray and hope that this isn’t going to happen in our community. When and if it did, the impact would just be tremendous,” McMullen said.
McBeth said Red Deer is still a pretty safe community and officers are highly trained and do their job well.
“This training session over the three days was a good example of the close relationship we have with Red Deer Emergency Services, and now with the school boards, making sure we do everything we can to keep everyone as safe as possible.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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