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School staff receive training for gun, knife attacks

May 22, 2018 | 10:00 PM

Staff from Red Deer schools received training earlier this month on how to respond to potentially dangerous situations.

They joined with Red Deer RCMP and Emergency Services at the former military base in Springbrook for an intensive three-day training exercise from May 10-12.

It was part of the RCMP’s Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD) training which involves 30 officers, 20 Emergency Services members, and 10 representatives from both Red Deer Public Schools and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.

“[It’s] 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,” says Red Deer RCMP Staff Sergeant Jeff McBeth.

“It was important to have our partners at Emergency Services and the school boards take part in the training because it’s vital in any emergency situation for all the key players to understand their roles and have good communication and trust.”

Training scenarios took place both indoors and outdoors focusing on multiple aspects of dealing with an armed assailant.

“Although we never wish for an event like this to occur, it is our responsibility to train and be prepared. Any time we can train with our partners in Protective Services we all benefit,” says Fire Chief Ken McMullen with Red Deer Emergency Services. “This training showcased the collaboration that is required during complex events. We thank the RCMP as well as the school boards for the opportunity to work with them and we look forward to many more opportunities.”

Bruce Buruma with Red Deer Public Schools says emergency preparedness is an essential component of maintaining safe and caring schools.

“By working closely together with first responders, we can most effectively respond to a wide range of situations in order to best take care of our school communities,” he says. “While we prepare for a variety of situations through drills with our students and staff, having the opportunity to see these scenarios unfold in front of you provides a new and important perspective allowing us to better prepare, even for some of the most difficult potential scenarios like we saw today.”

Haleigh Packer with Red Deer Catholic agrees, stating, “The safety of our students and staff is a top priority for our school division. We feel it’s important for our staff to collaborate with first responders and participate in all types of scenarios to be better prepared in case of an emergency.”

RCMP and Emergency Services collaborate on a variety of training exercises including mock disasters. They say the goal is always to educate, prevent, and improve response and communication with partners.