TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Multiple law enforcement agencies are partnering with Temple Fire and Rescue for hands on active shooter training at a nearby school.
"The training is an active threat scenario training,” said Santos Soto with Temple Fire and Rescue.
“It allows us to not only kind of better prepare ourselves for those situations where something malicious might be happening, it also gives us a chance to work with those other agencies.”
It starts with improving communication between agencies.
”Fundamentally, we work very differently,” said Michael Chapman, Training Coordinator, Waco District Highway Patrol.
"Fire and EMS work as teams very well — cops work individually very well, so bringing us all together, teaching us how we work and how to bring us together, is what this training is all about.”
The training starts with a normal day at Priority Charter Schools here in temple and then the call comes in.
Officers stop the threat then EMS gets to work saving lives.
This scenario is at a school, but the training can be applied elsewhere
“How can this training actually help in other active shooter situations such as the attempted assassination of a former President?”, 25 News reporter Adam Schindler asked.
”Bringing us together, working and communicating better — we’ll end up being better communicators and know each other's languages," Chapman said.
"When that happens no matter whether it’s a school shooting, assassination attempt, building, whatever, we will know how to work with each other.”
It's all about working together to save lives.
“Acting out these scenarios — having additional volunteers play the parts of some of the actors and stuff in there,” Soto said.
“It just gives us a more hands-on approach to dealing with these scenarios.”
Close to 200 different first responders will participate in this training of the next few days.
