Posts Tagged fire department prepares for active shooter incidents

Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from the state-journal register.com:

In the course of three days, more than 150 firefighters were trained in the new way the Springfield Fire and Police departments are going to handle active shooter and mass casualty events.

Now, instead of waiting to give medical attention to gunshot victims a block away, firefighters will go in with police officers to be able to give immediate care. While other Springfield police officers focus on stopping the shooter, rescue task forces made up of police officers and firefighters would enter warm zones — secured areas with the potential for danger — and focus on the victims.

“Firefighters have been traditionally taught to stand down during an active shooter event, to stage blocks away and to wait until police officers have secured every nook and cranny of the building,” Springfield Fire Chief Allen Reyne said. “We’ve learned through other people’s tragedies that that isn’t the best practice, that there had been people who had been survivable victims who ultimately bled out waiting for rescuers to enter the building.”

A study conducted in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people died, found that 16 victims might have lived if they had gotten care with 10 minutes and reached a hospital within an hour. A Propublica investigation found that the Orlando Fire Department had a plan in which firefighters would enter warm zones with police and had purchased bulletproof vests, but momentum to enact the plan stalled and training was never implemented.

However, at the request of the chief of the Orange County, Florida, Fire Rescue Department, the National Fire Protection Association created new standards last year to address active shooter incidents, which included rescue task forces entering warm zones.

Other than training, one of the most important pieces of the puzzle — protective equipment for the firefighters — fell into place within the last two months. The Foreign Fire Insurance Board unanimously voted to spend about $15,800 on 20 bulletproof vests and helmets to have on hand in case of an active shooter situation. 

Twenty-two medical kits were purchased through a $9,400 grant provided by Memorial Medical Center Foundation. Instead of the large duffel bags full of equipment firefighters normally carry, the kits can be slung around their waist or chest and contain only the supplies needed to stop life-threatening bleeds.

One of the police training officers reminded firefighters of the need to move fast and use fewer supplies than they would during a normal medical call. In entering a building, the number of casualties are unknown and firefighters can’t leave to resupply. He used the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 as an example. There, the gunman killed 28 people within 10 minutes.

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Springfield Fire Department news

Excerpts from Foxillinois.com:

There’s a boost in Springfield’s training for responding to an active threat. National standards are changing as the country sees bigger and more horrific incidents across the nation.

The Las Vegas shooting killed 58 people and injured 851. This week, 5 people were shot dead at a Maryland newspaper. Now local law enforcement is teaming up to enhance active threat training.

The fire department is collaborating with police and other emergency departments to refine the response. New national standards from the National Fire Prevention Association call for having a unified command, integrated response, and a planned recovery. Readjusting training is a part of an evolution. Over the many shootings, multiple deaths happen after the incident through blood loss. 

The new concept calls for people in the community to learn first aid, like CPR and how to stop someone’s bleeding. The fire department wants to have blood stop kits in certain buildings across the city.

The departments are also working on upgrading the response to situations at our local schools.

This Rescue Task force effort, of police and fire working together, is sparked by the NFPA. They just released a new roadmap for emergency responders. In it, it reads about how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an active threat, like an active shooter or stabbing.

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Mount Prospect FD to prepare for active shooter incidents

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

The Mount Prospect Fire Department is contemplating purchasing equipment that will give paramedics the ability to respond more quickly to active shooting incidents.

Deputy Chief Brian Lambel told a joint meeting of the village board and the finance commission that he is requesting $20,000 for  vests, armor and helmets.

“What we have done in the past is we haven’t gone in as long as the scene was hot or active. We would wait until the scene was cleared and then we would go in and treat the injured,” Lambel said at last week’s meeting on the village capital improvement plan.

Lambel said studies have shown that in some cases, people could have been saved if help arrived sooner. The plan is for firefighters in a rescue task force, under police protection, to go into areas considered warm rather than hot.

“Our medics could go in, start treating people that are brought to that area, under the protection of the police that would always be with them, and move on if they had to, to get other victims. And then what we can do is get the victims out, get them to triage and (they can) be treated quicker.”

When asked whether the firefighters would become more of a target, Lambel said that they would be going into an area that was deemed safe, but that everyone is a target in such incidents. There would be two police officers, one in the front and one in the rear, providing protection. Firefighters are currently training with the police department.

Lambel said with training, the department feels it can do this for its citizens.

thanks Dan

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