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CLEAR Temp: 67 °F Wind: NW at 7 mph Sunday, June 2, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 2, 2002 Emergency agencies learn from mock school shooting By SANNE SPECHT for the Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — Emergency teams are still digesting the results from a May 15 simulated school shooting that revealed both strengths and weaknesses in their ability to respond to a disaster. Main story: Columbine spurred Rogue River students to action Responders met their time frame for scene security, victim assessment, triage transport and critical care, but a recent post-event meeting determined communication among agencies was sometimes an issue. A specially trained four-man team from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department quickly secured the site, but in a real-world scenario, Rogue River police and other agencies nearby would be more likely to arrive first on the scene, the leaders agreed. The agencies will spend the next six months studying the results and holding more drills before creating a countywide disaster response plan, said fire and rescue incident commander Chief Greg Winfrey of the Rogue River Fire Department. "I wish we had more resources to respond to an emergency, but I think everything basically went really well," Winfrey said. Twenty emergency-response teams descended on Rogue River High School the morning of May 15 in a mock disaster drill simulating a school shooting similar to Columbine. The drill was designed to test current first-responder agencies’ abilities and to create an effective reaction plan for the Rogue Valley in case of a disaster. Most of the events, victims’ behaviors and injuries were pre-planned. But team leaders saved some surprises for their crews that were revealed only on the day of the incident. Predicting that in a real emergency, people would panic and some would go into hiding, Winfrey made sure one of the student victims was hidden from view. He said his team passed by the student the first time they assessed the scene but found her during the second site exploration. "Now they know they need to look harder that first time through," said Winfrey. The drill revealed some areas in which additional training would have been helpful. Rogue River Police Chief Ken Lewis has been trained for "active shooter" incidents, for example, but his four-officer force has not. "We are going to be taking a long look at the real-world possibility of our agency being the first responder in an emergency event," said Lewis. "But we’re not limiting our view to shooting incidents. It could be any disaster — an earthquake or even a multi-vehicle traffic accident." Lewis received "Code Red" packets from high school Principal Dave Orr that contained student information and schematics of the school to be placed in officer vehicles. Lewis will request similar packets from the other three schools in the Rogue River district. Another outcome from the drill will be the creation of a second entrance/exit from the school’s parking lot. According to Superintendent Charles Hellman, the second access will be built this summer near the Field of Dreams. Hellman said the mock shooting drill was emotionally difficult to witness, but he felt there was much learned and the drill was helpful to the school district. "It is so important that all our staff be trained. We need to be prepared," said Hellman. "I have to give the kids a lot of credit to be willing to participate in an exercise like this. It takes a lot of courage." Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S